Los Pinos: Recuento Autobiografico y Politico = The First Step

Written during the campaign for his widely acclaimed, 2000 presidential electoral win over the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party), Mexico's 70-year ruling party, President Vicente Fox's autobiography depicts a down-to-earth politician who wants to change the system. Clearly writing with the election in mind, Fox tells his story in a simple and often colloquial manner. He provides some personal history but focuses on his political career and presents his plans for change within Mexico's social and political context. He addresses aspects of his personal life such as his mother's Spanish nationality and his divorce only in response to criticisms that arose during his campaign. This treatise will help readers understand the issues that won Fox the presidency and forms a good basis on which to gauge his performance in fulfilling his campaign promises. In his critical and unauthorized biography, Mexican journalist Granados Chapa expands upon Fox's autobiography and corrects what he refers to as Fox's ""memoria falible"" (failing memory) when he finds Fox's facts are confused. He includes some details on the president's family life and business dealings but concentrates on Fox's colorful political career and philosophy, as well as on the political climate that led to his 2000 landmark defeat of the PRI. At times Granados Chapa stretches his critique of Fox to sheer association; for example, he details some early conflictive history of the Coca Cola company in Mexico prior to Fox's period as the company's president in the 1970s. Overall, this offers a good balance to Fox's autobiography. Prior knowledge of Mexican history and politics would be helpful in understanding the references made in both of these books, but they will both find an active readership in public libraries serving Mexican American communities, academic libraries, and bookstores. Teresa Myscich Gaska, Mexico