Luis Echeverría Álvarez (; 17 January 1922 – 8 July 2022) was an Mexican politician, lawyer and writer. He was President of Mexico from 1970 to 1976. He wrote several books about his years in office and about his retirement. During his presidency, his administration was criticized because of their handling of the Mexican Dirty War. He was a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. From 1978 to 1979, he was the Mexican Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand.
Presidency
When he was president, Echeverría banned almost every form of rock music in Mexico because of the rise of youth protestors in the 1970s. In 1971, he created the country's first environmental law.
He was a critic of dictators such as Augusto Pinochet and gave refugees asylum in Mexico. He also had a close partnership with Chairman Mao Zedong. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Echeverría did not have good relations with Israel after supporting a UN resolution that made Zionism the same as racism.
When he was president, Echeverría brought economic growth to the Mexican economy, as it grew by 6.1% and fixed the country's infrastructure. However, many saw that his presidency was authoritarian. Many blamed him for the 1971 Corpus Christi massacre against student protesters, the Dirty War against leftist critics in the country, and the economic crisis that happened in Mexico towards the end of his term.
Personal life
Echeverría was born in Mexico City, Mexico and studied at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He turned 100 in January 2022. He was married to María Esther Zuno from 1945 until her death in 1999. They had eight children.
In 2006, he was indicted and ordered under house arrest for his role in the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre and the 1971 Corpus Christi massacre, but in 2009 the charges against him were dropped.
Echeverría died at his home in Cuernavaca, Mexico from problems caused by pneumonia on 8 July 2022 at the age of 100.
More readings
Bizzarro, Salvatore. "Mexico under Echeverría." Current History (pre-1986) 66.000393 (1974): 212. Castañeda, Jorge G. Perpetuating Power: How Mexican Presidents Were Chosen. New York: The New Press 2000. Grindle, Merilee S. "Policy change in an authoritarian regime: Mexico under Echeverria." Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs 19.4 (1977): 523–555. Kiddle, Amelia Marie, ed. Populism in Twentieth Century Mexico: The Presidencies of Lázaro Cáárdenas and Luis Echeverría. University of Arizona Press, 2010. Looney, Robert E. "Mexican Economic Performance during the Echeverría Administration: Bad Luck or Poor Planning?." Bulletin of Latin American Research (1983): 57-68. Krauze, Enrique, Mexico: Biography of Power. New York: HarperCollins 1997. Olcott, Jocelyn. "The politics of opportunity: Mexican populism under Lázaro Cárdenas and Luis Echeverría." Gender and Populism in Latin America: Passionate Politics (2010): 25-46.