Madrazo, Roberto (1952–)

Mexican politician Roberto Madrazo Pintado is the son of Carlos A. Madrazo, reformist president of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in 1964–1965. Roberto was born in the Federal District on July 30, 1952. He joined the PRI while he was still a law student at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (1971–1974), and served as secretary general of the PRI's National Revolutionary Youth Movement from 1977 to 1978. He pursued a series of posts within the PRI, including general delegate to the national executive committee, and as the committee's secretary of promotion (1984–1987) and of organization (1988–1989). Among his political mentors was Carlos Hank González, an influential political figure.

Madrazo represented Tabasco in the Chamber of Deputies from 1976 to 1979 and 1991 to 1994, and in the Senate from 1988 to 1991. He served as governor of Tabasco from 1995 to 2001, after a bitter campaign involving widespread fraud, defeating among other opponents Manuel Andrés López Obrador. He failed to win his party's nomination as its presidential candidate in 1999, but became president of the PRI in 2002 after defeating his reformist opponents, a position he resigned in 2005 to run for the presidency of Mexico on the PRI ticket. He ran a distant third against Felipe Calderón from the National Action Party (PAN) and López Obrador from the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) in the 2006 elections, destroying his party's chance for a return to the presidency.

See alsoLópez Obrador, Manuel Andrés; Madrazo, Carlos A; Mexico, Political Parties: Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Grayson, George W. Mesías mexicano: Biografía crítica de Andrés Manuel López Obrador. México, D.F.: Grijalbo, 2006.

Trelles, Alejandro. Anatomía del PRI: Claves para entender a Roberto Madrazo. Mexico: Plaza y Janés, 2006.

                                          Roderic Ai Camp