Mexican President in Calgary

And in other news…Vicente Fox Quesada, the President of Mexico, was in Calgary yesterday.  He and his wife Marta Sahagun de Fox joined a prestigious group including Vladimir Putin, Oprah Winfrey, Kevin Costner and Prince Philip who have all gotten white Smithbilt cowboy hats as a welcome to Calgary.  Yes, that’s what we do around here.

Fox’ appearances were by invitation only (and we weren’t invited).  He spoke at the University of Calgary, and has gone on to British Columbia today.

Alberta and Mexico do a lot of trade – over a billion a year.  They have a lot of ties, especially when it comes to energy.  The oil industry is, of course, big around here, as it is in Mexico.  Mexico’s oil and gas company, Pemex, is one of the 100 biggest companies in the world (that’s not just oil companies – that’s any company).

Apparently Fox spoke about his government’s accomplishments, and about strengthening ties between “us and them”.  There’s currently a picture of Fox and Prime Minister Paul Martin on Fox’s website.

Fox has been president since December 1 2000.  He was born in Mexico City.  He was a route supervisor for Coca-Cola, and eventually took charge of Coke’s operations throughout Latin America.  Now you know.