Editing History of Mexico (section)

===President Vicente Fox Quesada (2000–2006)===
{{See also|Fox administration}}
[[File:Vicente Fox Singh.jpg|thumb|left|President Vicente Fox with Prime Minister of India [[Manmohan Singh]]]]

Emphasizing the need to upgrade infrastructure, modernize the tax system and labor laws, integrate with the U.S. economy, and allow private investment in the energy sector, [[Vicente Fox|Vicente Fox Quesada]], the candidate of the [[National Action Party (Mexico)|National Action Party]] (PAN), [[2000 Mexican general election|was elected]] president of Mexico on 2 July 2000, ending PRI's 71-year-long control of the office. Though Fox's victory was partly due to popular discontent with decades of unchallenged PRI hegemony, Fox's opponent, Francisco Labastida, conceded defeat on the night of the election—a first in Mexican history.<ref>{{cite book|author=Daniel Drache|title=Big Picture Realities: Canada and Mexico at the Crossroads|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hKfvb5zf8oUC&pg=PA128|year=2008|publisher=Wilfrid Laurier Univ. Press|page=128|isbn=978-1-55458-045-3}}</ref> A further sign of the quickening of Mexican democracy was the fact that PAN failed to win a majority in both chambers of [[Congress of Mexico|Congress]]. This situation prevented Fox from implementing his reform pledges. Nonetheless, the transfer of power in 2000 was quick and peaceful.

Fox was a strong candidate but an ineffective president weakened by PAN's minority status in Congress. Historian Philip Russell summarizes: <blockquote>Marketed on television, Fox made a far better candidate than he did president. He failed to take charge and provide cabinet leadership, failed to set priorities, and disregarded alliance building... By 2006, political scientist [[Soledad Loaeza]] 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." ...He 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 Haiti's... Finally, during Fox's administration, only 1.4 million formal-sector jobs were created, leading to massive immigration to the United States and an explosive increase in informal employment.<ref>{{cite book|author=Philip Russell|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=978-1-136-96828-0}}</ref></blockquote>

Fox initiated policies to attract foreign investment, promote trade, and modernize Mexico's economy, although progress in these areas was mixed. Additionally, Fox's presidency was notable for its emphasis on improving relations with the United States and advocating for comprehensive immigration reform.