Mexico Government Trivia

1. Porfirio Diaz was in power for more than 30 years, which makes it clear that he did not allow competition. In 1908, which journalist from the "Pearson's" magazine interviewed Diaz, an event that would spark revolutionary movements in Mexico?

From Quiz The Fall of the Dictator: Porfirio Diaz

Answer: James Creelman

The Diaz-Creelman interview took place in 1908, in the Castle of Chapultepec. In the interview, Diaz stated that Mexico, after decades, was finally ready for democracy, and promised not to be a candidate for the 1910 presidential elections. However, he did not keep that promise, a fact that is known to be one of the causes of the Mexican Revolution. After the interview spread all around Mexico, dozens of political movements started seeking the presidency. The journalist in charge of the interview, James Creelman, was a Canadian reporter who worked in the United States for most of his life. He covered important events such as the Sino-Japanese War and the Cuban War of Independence.

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: 6 years

In Mexico, a President serves for six years but cannot be re-elected. This is in contrast to the United States, where a President is elected for four years but is free to repeat the candidate process to serve for a further four-year term, making eight in all, as was the case with (for example) both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

From Quiz The Bizarre 2006 Inauguration: Mexico's President

Answer: Vicente Fox

Vicente Fox served his one six-year term, which in Mexico is the limit for presidents. The other three men named served as presidents of their respective countries in 2007: Chavez in Venezuela, Morales in Ecuador, and Ortega in Nicaragua. They were all leftists, admirers of Fidel Castro, which seemed to be the political tendency in Latin America in 2007.

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: Guadalupe Victoria

1521 saw the Spanish, led by Hernan Cortes, conquering the Aztecs. After getting independence from Spain in a movement that lasted from 1810 to 1821, Agustin de Iturbide took over power and became an emperor. After he resigned, Victoria was awarded the presidency in 1824.

From Quiz The Bizarre 2006 Inauguration: Mexico's President

Answer: Felipe Calderon

The correct answer is Felipe Calderon, but it gets complicated. Both Felipe Calderon (representing the National Action Party, or PAN) and Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (candidate of the PRD, or Party of the Democratic Revolution) declared themselves the winner. Roberto Madrazo was the PRI candidate (Institutional Revolutionary Party) which ran a weak third. Patricia Mercado represented the Social Democratic and Peasant Alternative Party and gained relatively few votes. There was a preliminary count on election day, with the results being announced at regular intervals. But for some reason, late in the day it was decided to stop announcing the counts until all the results were in. This seemed suspicious to some people, as Calderon had a lead throughout most of the day, and when Lopez Obrador seemed to be catching up-they stopped announcing the results. Mexico has a long history of electoral fraud and stolen elections. There were many observers at the polls, each party with representatives watching over the ballot boxes. (It is said that Lopez Obrador won the governorship of his home state of Tabasco in 1994, only to have it stolen by fraud on the part of the PRI. Roberto Madrazo was declared the winner.)

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was in the army from the age of 16. He was the commander of the troops that fought in the Texas Independence battles. He served a total of 11 terms, serving intermittently, although he can be considered a dictator. Gomez Farias was his vice-president and sometimes interim President during Santa Anna's rule. Bocanegra and Velez are Mexico's third and fourth Presidents, respectively.

From Quiz The Bizarre 2006 Inauguration: Mexico's President

Answer: .58

Calderon won the election by obtaining .58 percent more votes than Lopez Obrador. The actual official amount of votes was a bit under a quarter million. The results were as follows: Felipe Calderon - (PAN) 15,000,284 35.89% Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - (PRD) 14,756,350 35.31% Roberto Madrazo - PRI 9,301,441 22.26% Patricia Mercado - Social Democratic 1,128,850 2.70% Roberto Campa - New Alliance Party 401,804 0.96%

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: Benito Juarez

Benito Pablo Juarez García was the 27th President of Mexico. He made popular the statement "Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace". The liberal laws he introduced were called the Reform Laws, and included the secularization of cemeteries (which gave the government control of them), and the requirement to be married by the law, so marriage in Church would have no worth in the eyes of the law. Diaz de la Vega and Alvarez were the 24th and 25th Presidents of Mexico, respectively, and Quetzalcoatl was an Aztec deity.

From Quiz The Bizarre 2006 Inauguration: Mexico's President

Answer: Federal Electoral Institute

Mexico has an electoral agency called the Federal Electoral Institute, or IFE. Because electoral fraud has been so common in Mexico, the agency was created to oversee all elections in the country. The IFE asked the candidates to refrain from announcing themselves as victorious because the voting was so close. Neither Calderon or Lopez Obrador paid any heed to this, and both proclaimed victory. When it was finally announced that Calderon had won, Lopez Obrador immediately cried foul. He was able to document irregularities in vote counts and handling of the ballot boxes. These charges were looked into and rectified. Lopez Obrador was not satisfied, and insisted upon a vote-by-vote recount. There were massive demonstrations in the streets of Mexico City and other cities in support of Lopez Obrador. Within the IFE, there is an Electoral Tribunal, and the Tribunal makes the decisions. Although some small irregularities were found, they were deemed as having no effect on the outcome of the election. After a month-long deliberation, ultimately Calderon was declared the winner. The Tribunal's ruling was the final word, and there is no appeals process.

From Quiz The Fall of the Dictator: Porfirio Diaz

Answer: Secretary of Finance and Public Credit

Jose Yves Limantour was born in Mexico from French parents. In 1893, he was designated as Secretary of Finance and Public Credit of Mexico, a position he held until Diaz's term ended. Limantour did an excellent job, and he wanted to be the next president after Diaz, although the Constitution would need to change since his parents weren't Mexican. Bernardo Reyes, an excellent Mexican military man, posed a danger for Diaz and he knew it, which is why he was sent to Germany to study military tactics.

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: Porfirio Diaz

Diaz was in power for 34 years. He is known for not particularly liking the United States, as he preferred to have economic relationships with European countries like France. He built many railways, and the economy certainly grew, although the country did not develop, as the amount of poor people increased. When Diaz was defeated by Francisco I. Madero, he left for France, where he died. Sebastian Lerdo de Tejada was the 32nd President of Mexico, Hugo Chavez was the President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013, when he died because of cancer, and Fidel Castro was the President of Cuba from 1976 to 2008.

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: Luis Echeverria

Echeverria, along with Diaz Ordaz, is said to be the intellectual author of the tragedy where students who were protesting were brutally murdered by the army. He was under house arrest from 2006 to 2009 for charges of genocide, then he was released. Santiago Creel was Minister of The Interior of Mexico from 2000 to 2005, while Victoriano Huerta was the 40th President of Mexico and Janet Napolitano was appointed Secretary of Homeland Security in 2009 by U.S. President Barack Obama.

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: 2000

Ernesto Zedillo was in power from 1994 to 2000. He was the last candidate from the PRI (Revolutionary Institutional Party) to win an election in Mexico until the 2012 elections. After finishing his term, Zedillo has worked in companies such as Procter and Gamble and Union Pacific, company which owns Mexican railways that were privatized during Zedillo's tenure. Miguel de la Madrid, who died on April 2012, served from 1982 to 1988, and Carlos Salinas de Gortari served from 1988 to 1994.

From Quiz The Bizarre 2006 Inauguration: Mexico's President

Answer: Nothing - they were allowed to conduct their sit-in

They were allowed to stay there. It was a marathon sit-in. They all ate and slept on the Senate podium for three days. No move whatsoever was made to force them to leave. They had sleeping bags brought in, (I believe I saw a few Senators wearing pajamas), food was delivered, (they ordered in pizza), chatted on their cell phones, and waited for the day that Calderon was to be sworn in. This was all on television, of course. There are cameras all over the building.

From Quiz The Fall of the Dictator: Porfirio Diaz

Answer: Puebla

On November 18, 1910, the conspiracy that planned to overthrow Diaz was discovered, and the army was sent to fight the brothers Aquiles and Maximo Serdan. They both died; however, this marked the official start of the Mexican Revolution. Many movements originated in many parts of the country.

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: He was the first President from an opposition party since 1910

Fox, a candidate from the PAN (National Action Party) defeated Francisco Labastida from the PRI, party that had been in control for nearly 72 years. His term ended in 2006. He focused a lot on improving Mexico's relationship with the United States, and is known for some of his controversial remarks.

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: Felipe Calderon

Calderon, from the National Action Party, won by less than 1% of votes over Lopez Obrador from PRD, who refused to accept the results. He declared himself "illegitimate President". Roberto Madrazo was the opponent from the PRI, and Roberto Campa ran for New Alliance.

From Quiz Some of the Presidents of Mexico

Answer: Enrique Peña Nieto

Enrique Peña Nieto, who ran for the PRI, won the 2012 elections and therefore assumed office. Lopez Obrador claimed that he bought people's votes and used the people's need to get votes. Josefina Vazquez Mota was the candidate from the PAN, while Quadri ran for Nueva Alianza (New Alliance). This party was created by Elba Esther Gordillo, who was the leader of the teachers union in Mexico from 1989 until 2013, when President Peña Nieto announced her arrest for embezzlement.

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Last Updated Nov 02 2024 5:50 AM

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