Mexico: The election that ended one‑party rule

Summary

Witness History: Mexico – The Election That Ended One-Party Rule

Podcast: Witness History (BBC World Service)
Host: Helen Ledwick
Date: May 26, 2026
Duration: ~9 minutes

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Helen Ledwick takes listeners back to the year 2000, documenting the pivotal Mexican presidential election that ended 71 years of one-party rule by the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party). Through the eyes of Francisco Ortiz, Vicente Fox’s campaign marketing strategist, the episode brings to life the tension, strategy, and emotional high points that led to this dramatic turning point in Mexican and Latin American political history.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. A Historic Night – The Fox Campaign’s "War Room"

• Tense Election Night: Fox’s team is anxiously watching results through TV screens, phones, and even their own satellite feed to avoid relying on official channels.
  • Timestamp: [00:04–01:14]
• The Turning Point:
  • Before official results, Fox receives a congratulatory call from President Zedillo, the outgoing PRI leader, conceding defeat.
  • Francisco Ortiz’s Reaction:

    "So before we had the official results, Fox received a call from President Sedillo telling him, you won." — Francisco Ortiz [01:03]
    "I may die. Now... you already accomplished a big, big task which looked like an impossible one." — Francisco Ortiz [01:46]

2. PRI’s Dominance and the Need for Change

• The PRI’s Legacy:
  • PRI had ruled since 1929, fueling decades of mistrust. Even after reforms for transparency, few believed another party could actually win.
  • This skepticism led Fox’s team to recruit someone outside traditional politics: Francisco Ortiz, a seasoned media marketer.
  • Timestamp: [02:01–02:31]

3. Building the Fox Brand – A Marketer’s Dream

• Francisco Ortiz’s Recruitment:
  • Initially skeptical ("Here in Mexico, we have only a ruling party, which is pri..."), Ortiz is soon captivated by Fox’s unique profile.
  • Quote:

    "I run and buy a political magazine... trying to understand who is Fox." — Francisco Ortiz [02:31]

• Vicente Fox’s Persona:
  • "A towering man with a brisk moustache... former head of Coca Cola in Mexico," but also a rancher in cowboy boots and hat.
  • Quote:

    "The character was like a Mexican superhero, you know, he was a very, very good product." — Francisco Ortiz [03:36]

4. Innovative Campaign Tactics

• Unorthodox Marketing:
  • Ortiz’s team creates 65 TV ads in nine months—far from Mexico's traditional campaign style.
  • First TV Commercial:
    • Ad featured people saying "Ya, ya, ya" ("Do it now") with a victory sign—viewed as odd, but it helped brand Fox as the energetic outsider.
  • Quote:

    "Nobody expects to see this kind of things. So it helped us a lot to position us against the official candidate, Francisco Labastida for the pri." — Francisco Ortiz [03:57]

5. Hard-Fought Debates and Crisis Management

• Debate Drama:
  • Fox gains ground in the polls following the first televised debate, prompting the PRI to resist a second.
  • At a contentious press conference, Fox insists, "I want the debate today" ("lo quiero, hoy").
  • Media backlash follows, calling Fox "stubborn," and his poll numbers fall.
  • Quotes:

    "All the newspapers said, stubborn Fox... So all the media was against Fox." — Francisco Ortiz [06:11]

• The ‘Jiu Jitsu’ Strategy:
  • Fox’s team reclaims the "stubborn" label as a positive: he wants to solve problems now.
  • Quote:

    "We shift the tendency of the polls and then we start being up. It was a very, very, very key day for us." — Francisco Ortiz [07:02]

6. Victory and Its Significance

• PRI Concedes on Election Night:
  • At 11pm, President Zedillo publicly acknowledges Fox’s win.
  • Celebrations erupt, with Fox appearing on the party’s balcony and supporters flooding Mexico City’s Angel of Independence monument.
  • Quote:

    "I decided to go and have some tacos before going to El angel del Independencia, because I maybe have not eaten in the last three days... And then I went and celebrate the winning." — Francisco Ortiz [07:53]

• Legacy for Mexico and Beyond:
  • The win proves power can change hands democratically after decades of single-party dominance, inspiring greater possibilities for change across Latin America.
  • Quote:

    "It was very important for Mexico, but for Latin America too, because then you show that there is a possibility to change government." — Francisco Ortiz [08:31]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "I may die. Now... you already accomplished a big, big task which looked like an impossible one." — Francisco Ortiz [01:46]
• "The character was like a Mexican superhero, you know, he was a very, very good product." — Francisco Ortiz [03:36]
• "You don't want a president that is very stubborn." — Fox's rivals' commercial [06:36]
• "So we said, okay, let's apply the Jiu Jitsu strategy." — Francisco Ortiz [06:36]
• "We had a ruling party that was more like a dictatorial party... So it was very important for Mexico, but for Latin America too, because then you show that there is a possibility to change government." — Francisco Ortiz [08:31]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:04–01:14: Election night, anticipation, and Fox receives the call from Zedillo.
• 02:31–03:36: Ortiz’s recruitment and first impressions of Fox.
• 03:57–04:57: Launch of the unconventional "Ya, ya, ya" commercial.
• 05:12–07:02: Debate controversy, media backlash, and turning the narrative.
• 07:37–08:31: Election victory, personal anecdotes, and national celebration.
• 08:31–08:56: Reflection on the broader impact on Mexico and Latin America.

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Episode Tone & Closing Reflections

The episode maintains a brisk, energetic tone, echoing the chaos and excitement of campaign life and the enormity of the political transformation. Ortiz’s candid recollections—his surprise, pride, and humor—humanize the high-stakes strategy. The story closes reflecting on how this historic upset didn’t just change a country but inspired a continent.

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Summary prepared for listeners seeking a vivid, first-person account of the campaign that ended 71 years of one-party rule in Mexico through modern marketing strategy and political courage.

Transcript

[A]

Hello. Welcome to Witness History from the BBC World Service with me, Helen Ledwick. We're the podcast that takes you back to a moment in history by speaking to those who were there. Episodes are just nine minutes long, and they come out every weekday, so if that sounds like your kind of thing, then hit subscribe. And don't forget to turn your push notifications on. I'm taking you back to the year 2000 for a pivotal moment in Mexico's history. A presidential election that saw a change of government for the first time in 71 years. 10pm on the 2nd of July, election day, and in Mexico City, the main opposition candidate, Vicente Fox, is at party headquarters with his team. They've been camped out in what they call the war room, monitoring the results as they come in. TV screens, phones, faxes. They've even hired their own satellite fee to. They don't have to rely on official channels. And then it happens.

[B]

So before we had the official results, Fox received a call from President Sedillo telling him, you won.

[A]

Francisco Ortiz is the campaign's marketing strategist. He's in the room when the call comes through.

[B]

So while I'm now getting. I'm feeling the same excitement that I felt at that time because President Zedillo called him telling him you won.

[A]

President Zedillo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, the pri, has just conceded. Francisco's boss, Vicente Fox of the National Action Party, or pan, will be the next president of Mexico.

[B]

I mean, we were extremely happy at that time. I thought, I may die. Now. It was the feeling, I mean, that you already accomplished a big, big task which looked like an impossible one.

[A]

Impossible because the PRI had won every single presidential election since it was founded in 1929, leading to decades of mistrust. And even though there'd been changes to make elections more transparent, it was hard for people to believe that another party could win. So a year before the election, Fox's team decide they need a fresh approach, someone outside of politics, someone who knows how to build brands, someone like Francisco, who's working for a big media company.

[B]

The headhunter called me and told me, are you interested in handling a presidential marketing campaign? And I said, how is that? Because here in Mexico, we have only a ruling party, which is pri, and there is another position, I mean, that has a possibility to win. And he told me, no. Have you heard about Fox? And I said, yes. The TV station in the us, Fox Television. I said, no, no, no, no, no. This is the governor of one of the Mexican states, which is Guanajuato. So I run and buy a political magazine, which is called Processo. Trying to understand who is Fox.

[A]

This is how the BBC described him at the time.

[B]

Vicente Fox is a tiring man with a brisk moustache who looks like the chief executive of. That's not really surprising because that's what he used to be, head of Coca Cola in Mexico.

[A]

So a businessman, but in signature cowboy boots, a wide brimmed hat and a silver belt buckle that spells out Fox. And he grew up on a ranch. He's a marketeer's dream.

[B]

The character was like a Mexican superhero, you know, he was a very, very good product.

[A]

Francisco is in and it's full on fast moving, modern marketing. Nothing like the traditional campaigning that voters are used to. The team churns out 65 TV adverts in just nine months. And at first, not everyone gets it.

[B]

As a matter of fact, the first TV commercial that we produce, I remember that day that we were at the Pan building and we present the TV commercial and everybody says, what's that? Because the only thing that we were saying was ja, ja, ja, ja. Which is do it now, do it now, do it now. Showing that you are tired of all the other things, but the only thing that you was looking at was people only saying, ja, ja, ja. And doing this signal with the fingers, which is the B of B victory and the bill of Vicente. So nobody expects to see this kind of things. So it helped us a lot to position us against the official candidate, which was Francisco Labastida for the pri.

[A]

At this point, Labastida is leading in the polls, the clear frontrunner. But as the campaign rolls on, Fox narrows the gap. In spring 2000, there's a televised debate with Fox, widely seen as. And now a second debate has been lined up.

[B]

The next one supposedly was intended to be only between the three top candidates, which were Fox, Labastida and Cardenas, which were the top three parties. But they didn't want to have it. I mean, the PRI didn't want to have it because they knew that we won the first, they didn't want to have the second one.

[A]

So when the day arrives, a last minute press conference is called. You can see the whole thing on YouTube. Three candidates sitting, sitting side by side in a garden, surrounded by reporters arguing. Fox's opponents are saying the format hasn't been settled. The TV networks haven't agreed, and Fox

[B]

said, no, I want the debate today in Spanish will be Oi, I wanted, oy lo quiero, oy. I wanted today, I want it today.

[A]

Francisco is Worried, and he's right to be. The polls drop and the headlines are brutal.

[B]

I saw him in the morning and I said, well, all the newspapers said, stubborn Fox, stubborn Fox. He didn't understand that we can conduct the debate, blah, blah, blah. So all the media was against Fox. So at the end of the day, I said, well, what are we going to do now?

[A]

Francisco calls a crisis meeting, but the other candidates are one step ahead.

[B]

Cardenas and La Bastida start with a commercial that said, you don't want a president that is very stubborn. And they used the image from the meeting in which Fox was today, today. So we said, okay, let's apply the Jiu Jitsu strategy.

[A]

Ah, the Jiu Jitsu strategy. They're thinking, can we flip this on its head?

[B]

Here in Mexico, we have a saying that says, don't leave for tomorrow what you can do today. So we said, okay, these old politicians, they want to do all the things that has to be solved today, tomorrow. But folks want to solve all the problems of the country today. So what do you prefer? So we put it on air and we reverse. We shift the tendency of the polls and then we start being up. It was a very, very, very key day for us.

[A]

When election day finally arrives, Fox's team is confident. And at 11pm on 2 July, only an hour after that phone call, President Zedillo goes on television and publicly concedes

[B]

Vicente Fox Quesada. Then we had a big celebration inside the party with folks at the balcony. And then I decided to go and have some tacos before going to El angel del Independencia, because I maybe have not eaten in the last three days. I don't know. And then I went and celebrate the winning.

[A]

Tens of thousands of Fox supporters are out on the streets of Mexico City surrounding the monument known as the angel of Independence, chanting, celebrating, car horns blaring. It's a proud moment for Francisco.

[B]

We had a ruling party that was more like a dictatorial party, I mean, because we didn't have any opposition during 71 years. So it was very important for Mexico, but for Latin America too, because then you show that there is a possibility to change government. So it opened the possibility for another party to win.

[A]

Vicente Fox went on to govern Mexico for a full six year term. Francisco Ortiz stepped away from politics in 2003, but stayed in marketing. He still works in Mexico City. Today he was speaking to me, Helen Ledwick, for Witness History from the BBC World Service. And if you enjoyed that, then you might like some of our other episodes like the Mexican American War, the 1968 Mexico City massacre, or Mexico's miracle water. Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe wherever you get your BBC podcasts. A moment in time captured by what they heard.

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