Portrait of Felipe Calderón
Politician · organisation
Wikipedia (opens in new tab)

Felipe Calderón on National Action Party (PAN)

Skeptical but hopeful critic (strong) Position evolved

TL;DR

Felipe Calderón left the PAN in 2018 but expressed cautious optimism about its recent relaunch efforts.

Key Points

  • He served as the National Action Party's national chairman between 1996 and 1999.

  • The ex-president quit the PAN in 2018, citing an abandonment of the party's fundamental principles.

  • In 2025, he suggested the PAN was moving "on the right track" following the party's relaunch efforts.

Summary

Felipe Calderón, a former National Action Party (PAN) president and Mexican president, has a complex relationship with his original political home. He was elected president in 2006 as the PAN candidate, succeeding another PAN president, and previously served as the party's national chairman from 1996 to 1999. However, he quit the party in 2018, claiming it had stopped being an "instrument of citizen participation" and had abandoned its fundamental principles. He even floated the idea of creating a new conservative party, citing internal issues within the PAN like control by a clique and manipulation of registers, essentially denouncing the party for corruption.

More recently, the former president has shown conditional approval for the party's direction following a significant relaunch. He indicated that he believed the PAN was now "on the right track" based on the promises made during the relaunch event, particularly the emphasis on greater openness to citizens in party management and candidate selection. Despite this positive assessment, he expressed reservations about the party's decision to terminate its political alliances, suggesting the PAN should not sever ties with parties like the PRI.

Key Quotes

under the Constitution at the time, marriage was defined as between a man and a woman, and emphasized that the matter should be resolved judicially; he denied that the partys opposition was motivated by prejudice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Felipe Calderón has a complex relationship with the PAN; he was once its national chairman and later a president elected under its banner, but he ultimately quit the party in 2018. More recently, he has acknowledged that the party's recent relaunch appears to be moving it in a positive direction.

Yes, Felipe Calderón suggested intentions to create a new conservative political party in 2018. This move was motivated by his belief that the PAN had become controlled by a clique and had deviated from its core principles. However, a later attempt to register his movement, México Libre, was rejected.

The former president quit the National Action Party (PAN) in 2018. At the time, he stated that the party had ceased to function as an instrument for citizen participation and had abandoned its core tenets. He is a controversial figure, partly due to the militarized campaign against drug cartels he initiated as president.