Vicente Fox, the President of Mexico, received the National Endowment for Democracy’s 2001 Annual Democracy Award September 5 at a well-attended Capitol Hill ceremony in Washington. The NED Board of Directors chose to honor Fox in recognition of his historic election to Mexico’s highest office, ending more than seven decades of single-party rule. NED views the honor as a tribute to the people of Mexico for the change they embraced by choosing a new path and working toward a more open and more democratic future for their country.
About 400 people attended the ceremony including Mexico’s First Lady, Martha Sahagun de Fox, as well as Congressional leaders.
- Speakers at the award ceremony included:
- Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas
- Minority Leader Richard Gephardt, D-Mo
- Vice-Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, Rep. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.
- National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice
- Sergio Aguayo, Mexican democracy and human rights activist, 1995 recipient of NED Democracy award
