Ex-president Fox shakes up Mexico, again

For more than seven decades, the game was simple: Mexican presidents got to rule as if they were monarchs, and then they were to disappear and let the new leader reign.

The former heads of state slinked silently away; those who had not yet had their fill of power were forced out, often by public scandal.

Then came Vicente Fox.

Mr. Fox changed the nation when, upon taking the helm of Mexico in 2000, he ended 71 years of authoritarian rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Now he's changing what it means to be a former president of Mexico.

Since his term ended last year, Mr. Fox has joined the lecture circuit in his stated quest to spread global democracy.

He is opening a presidential library, styled not unlike those of former US presidents. He was elected copresident of Centrist Democrat International, a global association of center-right parties. And due out next month are his memoirs in English, in which he weighs in on President Bush's ambition and ability to speak Spanish.

But now the publicity may have backfired. He's been hounded by the local press. And after he and his wife, Marta Sahagun, appeared on the front cover of a magazine with accompanying photos of their lavishly refurbished ranch, Mexicans cried corruption. Lawmakers have formally approved an investigation into the source of Fox's apparent wealth.

An outmoded view of ex-presidents' role

Whether the buzz is good or bad is up for debate. But what it does show, says Jeffrey Davidow, US ambassador to Mexico during part of Fox's administration, is that the country still has an outmoded view of what it means to be both a president and an ex-president.

"I think much of the criticism of Fox for his memoirs, for building a library, and being visible internationally is really a leftover from a system that is now archaic," he says. "People don't know how to adjust to the new mold. It's not good, bad, or otherwise, it's just a new world."

In this new world, Fox's postpresidency is playing out as the most public in the nation's history. He made a splash in May when he invited journalists to his ranch in the state of Guanajuato to reveal plans for a presidential library. But when he and his wife posed for photos of their home in Quién magazine this month, questions were immediately raised as to whether government money contributed to the renovations.

Lino Korrodi, once Fox's campaign finance manager but today a critic, told the local media that Fox did not have the money to repair the ranch during his presidency. "It is evident he got rich during his six years in office, in a very shameless and cynical way," Mr. Korrodi told the daily El Universal last week.

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