Josefina Vázquez Mota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Josefina Vázquez Mota
President of the Political Coordination Board of the Chamber of Deputies
In office 5 September 2010 – 31 August 2011
Preceded by	Francisco Rojas Gutiérrez
Succeeded by	Armando Ríos Piter
Coordinator of the Parliamentary Group of the National Action Party
In office 1 September 2009 – 6 September 2011
Preceded by	Héctor Larios Córdova
Succeeded by	Francisco Javier Ramírez Acuña
Secretary of Public Education
In office 1 December 2006 – 4 April 2009
President	Felipe Calderón
Preceded by	Reyes Tamez Guerra
Succeeded by	Alonso Lujambio
Secretary of Social Development
In office 1 December 2000 – 6 January 2006
President	Vicente Fox
Preceded by	Carlos Jarque
Succeeded by	Ana Teresa Aranda
Personal details
Born	Josefina Eugenia Vázquez Mota (1961-01-20) 20 January 1961 (age 64) Mexico City, Mexico
Political party	National Action Party
Spouse	Sergio Ocampo Muñoz ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	3
Alma mater	Iberoamerican University Panamerican University Mexico Autonomous Institute of Technology
Website	Official website: http://www.josefina.com.mx/

Josefina Eugenia Vázquez Mota (born on January 20, 1961, in Mexico City) is a well-known businessperson and politician. She was the presidential candidate for the National Action Party (PAN) in the 2012 elections.

Vázquez Mota studied economics and started her career in family businesses. She also worked with different business groups and as a journalist, writing books. She began her political journey with the PAN, first in Mexico's federal Chamber of Deputies, and later in the governments of Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderón. She made history as the PAN's first female candidate for president.

About Josefina Vázquez Mota

Josefina Vázquez Mota was born in Mexico City on January 20, 1961. Her parents, Arnulfo Vázquez and Josefina Mota, came from the Sierra Norte de Puebla region of Mexico. She has seven brothers and sisters. She often talks about being very close to her sister, Lupita. When they were kids, they used to sell chocolate shakes on the street.

Josefina spent her first five years in a working-class area of Mexico City. She started her education in public school. Her father first wanted her to go to an all-girls high school. However, she convinced her parents to let her take an entrance exam for a vocational school. This school was called Center of Scientific and Technological Studies CECyT 9. She was a very good student and especially loved mathematics.

Vázquez Mota went on to study at the private Universidad Iberoamericana. She earned a degree in economics. She also took courses in management at the Instituto Panamericano de Alta Dirección de Empresas. She completed a program called "Ideas e Instituciones" at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.

Josefina met her husband, Sergio Ocampo Muñoz, in high school. He is a computer specialist. They got married in 1984 after dating for seven years. They have three daughters: María José, Celia María, and Montserrat.

Josefina's Career Before Politics

Josefina Vázquez Mota started getting involved in economic conferences. A friend of her father's, who worked with the Mexico City Chamber of Commerce, helped her. Since then, she has worked with many organizations and conferences around the world, especially in Latin America. She worked for business groups like the Confederación de Cámaras Nacionales de Comercio, Servicios y Turismo (Concanaco) and the Confederación Patronal de la República Méxicana (Coparmex).

For a while, she worked as a journalist. She wrote about economic topics for newspapers such as Novedades de México, El Financiero, and El Economista. In the 1980s, she and her family moved to Chihuahua. There, they helped manage some family businesses, including a children's clothing store.

She has written two books. Her first book was ¡Dios Mío! Házme viuda por favor ("My God! Make me a widow, please"). It is a self-help book that she wrote while living in Chihuahua. It was first published in Colombia and then in Mexico. The book has sold over 400,000 copies. Her second book is called Nuestra oportunidad. Un México para todos ("Our opportunity. A Mexico for everyone"). This book shares conversations she had with 22 international leaders. She also hosted a business show for TV Azteca.

Josefina's Political Journey

Starting in Politics

Josefina Vázquez Mota began her political career with the National Action Party (PAN). She joined the Citizen Coordinating Association and was a member of the Women's Secretariat. In 1996, she was asked to return to Mexico City. She became a representative in the Chamber of Deputies because of her knowledge in economics. During this time, she met the PAN president, Felipe Calderón.

She was elected to the federal legislature for the 2000–2003 term. She led the economic policy group. After this, she was appointed as the first female Secretary of Social Development (SEDESOL). She stayed in this role until 2006. Then, she left to work for Felipe Calderón's presidential campaign.

Working with President Calderón

In 2006, Josefina was chosen to be the campaign coordinator for Felipe Calderón. When Calderón won the election, she was part of the team that helped with the change of government. She was the Coordinator of Political Ties. After the election, she was named Secretary of Public Education. She was the first woman to hold this job.

Her time as Secretary of Public Education was known for her disagreements with the powerful head of the national teachers' union, Elba Esther Gordillo. She was later elected to the Chamber of Deputies again. From 2009 to 2011, she was the coordinator for the PAN Parliamentary Group.

Running for President in 2012

In 2011, Josefina Vázquez Mota left the legislature. She won her party's nomination to be their candidate for president. She won the nomination over another candidate, Ernesto J. Cordero, with 55% of the votes in the primary election. She became the first female candidate for president from the PAN. She was also the first female candidate for president from a major political party in Mexico's history.

As a candidate, Vázquez Mota presented herself as "different" from the other candidates. She also aimed to be different from her own party, which had been in power for the previous twelve years. She was the least known of the candidates from the three main parties (PAN, PRI, and PRD).

During her campaign, Vázquez Mota supported giving life sentences to politicians found guilty of corruption linked to organized crime. She also wanted more scholarships for students. She pushed for changes to labor laws, which she believed would help 400,000 people find formal jobs each year. She also promised to fight against discrimination towards women. She agreed with the policies of the previous presidents, Calderón and Fox. She stated that military personnel should only leave an area when there is a "trustworthy" police force in place. She is also a National Political Advisor for the PAN.

In the election, she came in third place. She received 25.4% of all the votes.

After the 2012 Election

In 2017, Josefina Vázquez Mota ran for governor of the State of Mexico. She finished in fourth place in a close race. The winner was Alfredo del Mazo Maza from a PRI-led group.

In the 2018 general election, she was elected to the Senate. She was on the PAN's national list.

In the 2024 general election, she ran for the Chamber of Deputies. She ran in the State of Mexico's 18th district (Huixquilucan). However, she was narrowly defeated by Claudia Sánchez Juárez from the Ecologist Green Party of Mexico (PVEM).

See also

In Spanish: Josefina Vázquez Mota para niños