Cuauhtemoc CARDENAS (Cardenas Cuauhtemoc)

(p. 1934)
Born May 1, 1934 in Mexico City in the family, General Lц?zaro Cц?rdenas, president of Mexico in 1934-1940, the most popular public figure in the modern history of the country. Graduated from the Mexican National Autonomous University of. In 1957 he graduated from the special courses at the ministry building in Paris, in 1958 worked for Krupp in Germany. Returning to Mexico, worked as assistant director of a steel plant in Las Truchase (pc. Michoacц?n). In 1976-1980 - assistant secretary of state forest resources and the animal world.
Cц?rdenas's political career began in 1951. In the presidential election supported the opposition candidate, General Guzman. In 1959, together with his father organized the National Liberation Movement (NOD), expressing the need for reform and support the Cuban Revolution.

During the 1960's, 1970's and early 1980's Cardenas held important positions in the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). In 1976 he was elected senator from the state of Michoacц?n, in 1980-1986 - the governor of this state. Cardenas did not suit the policy of President Miguel de la Madrid (1982-1988), which rested on a major capital within the country and in the U.S.. In addition, Cц?rdenas believed that the ruling party in structure is undemocratic. In 1986, together with Porfirio Munoz Ledo, another reformist leader of the PRI, has created opposition faction - the Democratic Movement. Once in 1987, Cardenas and other members of the Democratic Movement was expelled from the PRI, . organized the National Democratic Front, . said, . that he intends to participate in presidential elections and joined the fight against Carlos Salinas de Gortari, . which the president named as his successor,
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In 1988, during the presidential elections, Cardenas suggested a moratorium on payment of a huge foreign debt of Mexico and opposed the policy of privatization of a number of industries. In the election of Salinas received 50,5% of the vote, Cardenas - 31%, and Manuel Klouter of the Party of 'National Action' (MHP) - 17%. Many foreign observers and prominent citizens of Mexico stated that the election results were falsified. Proponents Cardenas and Kloutera took to the streets. But in September 1988 the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico formally approved Salinas as president. Then, Cardenas and other leaders of the National Democratic Front joined with members of the Mexican Socialist Party (ICP) and a number of small political groups, creating the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD).

After the 1988 elections, dozens of activists of the PRD have been killed or arrested. Local elections 1989 and 1990 were accompanied by accusations of rigging the results of continuous.

At the elections in August 1994, Cardenas won the third place, collecting 16% of votes. In 1997, Cardenas defeated the government candidate for the office of mayor of Mexico City, but in 2000 lost the election of the PRD candidate Andres Manuel Lopez.