Editing Vicente Fox (section)

===Legacy and assessment===
[[File:Fox,_Bush,_Martin.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Fox with US President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister [[Paul Martin]]]]
Although Fox's victory in the 2000 election and the end of seven decades of PRI rule raised great expectations of change among the Mexican people, his administration was criticized for failing to fulfill those expectations, as little progress was made in fighting corruption, crime, poverty, unemployment and inequality. Few key reforms were implemented during the Fox administration, which became characterised by a growing sense of [[power vacuum]] as Fox was increasingly perceived by Mexican society and political actors as a "[[Lame duck (politics)|lame duck]]" incapable of pushing the ambitious reform agenda that swept him into power in 2000.<ref name="ortega">{{cite news |last1=Ortega Avila |first1=Antonio |title=La revolución fracasada de Fox |url=https://elpais.com/diario/2005/07/02/internacional/1120255208_850215.html |newspaper=El País |access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Sexenio foxista, entre los escándalos y la decepción |url=https://www.elsiglodetorreon.com.mx/noticia/234046.sexenio-foxista-entre-los-escandalos-y-la-decepcion.html |website=El Siglo de Torreón |date=4 September 2006 |access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Batres Guadarrama |first1=Marti |title=Vicente Fox, el fracasado |url=https://www.jornada.com.mx/2006/11/30/index.php?section=opinion&article=026a2pol |publisher=La Jornada |access-date=30 November 2018}}</ref> Alejandro Cacho points out that "Fox incarnated the hope of alternancy [...] and he managed to kick the PRI out of [[Los Pinos]], but his government was a disappointment. Corruption persisted; in fact, his sons-in-law (the Bribiesca-Sahagún brothers) became rich quickly and without explanation. The economy wasn't much better than it had been under Ernesto Zedillo, the wages didn't increase significantly, neither did jobs. His "[[Presidency of Vicente Fox#Cabinet|super cabinet]]" ["gabinetazo", as Fox himself referred to it] created more controversy than it did good results. His wife, [[Marta Sahagún]], had a big influence in the presidential decisions".<ref name="¿Queremos candidato o presidente">{{cite news |last1=Cacho |first1=Alejandro |title=¿Queremos candidato o presidente? |url=https://elheraldodemexico.com/opinion/queremos-candidato-o-presidente/ |access-date=12 January 2020 |publisher=El Heraldo de México |date=5 June 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200112052216/https://elheraldodemexico.com/opinion/queremos-candidato-o-presidente/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Having assumed office with an approval rating of 80%,<ref name="ortega"/> by the time he left office in 2006 his public image had become exhausted by the controversial presidential elections of that year and the few reforms implemented.

In terms of the significance of Fox's presidency, historian Philip Russell asserts that, "Marketed on television, Fox made a far better candidate than he did president.<ref name="Russell, Philip 2011 593">{{cite book|author=Russell, Philip|title=The History of Mexico: From Pre-Conquest to Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K5xdBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA593|year=2011|publisher=Routledge|page=593|isbn=9781136968280}}</ref>
He failed to take charge and provide cabinet leadership, failed to set priorities, and turned a blind eye to alliance building."  Fox himself asserted in 2001 (one year into his administration) that he much preferred his experience as candidate than actually being president.<ref name="¿Queremos candidato o presidente"/>

Russell also pointed to 2006 comments by political scientist [[Soledad Loaeza]], who noted, "The eager candidate became a reluctant president who avoided tough choices and appeared hesitant and unable to hide the weariness caused by the responsibilities and constraints of the office."  Russell also asserted that Fox "had little success in fighting crime. Even though he maintained the macroeconomic stability inherited from his predecessor, economic growth barely exceeded the rate of population increase. Similarly, the lack of fiscal reform left tax collection at a rate similar to that of [[Haiti]] . . . ."  Finally, Russell noted that "during Fox's administration, only 1.4&nbsp;million formal-sector jobs were created, leading to massive immigration to the United States and an explosive increase in informal employment."  Ultimately, however, Russell concluded that Fox will be viewed by history as a transitional figure who was able to defeat one of Mexico's long-entrenched political parties.<ref name="Russell, Philip 2011 593"/>

In a national survey conducted in 2012 by BGC-Excelsior regarding former presidents, 32% of the respondents considered that the Fox administration was "very good" or "good", 25% responded that it was an "average" administration, and 42% responded that it was a "very bad" or "bad" administration.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Beltran |first1=Ulises |title=Zedillo y Fox los ex presidentes de México más reconocidos |date=29 October 2012 |url=https://www.imagenradio.com.mx/zedillo-y-fox-los-ex-presidentes-de-mexico-mas-reconocidos |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200126173838/https://www.imagenradio.com.mx/zedillo-y-fox-los-ex-presidentes-de-mexico-mas-reconocidos |archive-date=26 January 2020|publisher=Imagen Radio |access-date=26 August 2023}}</ref>