Carlos Salinas de Gortari
He radically transformed Mexico's economy by binding it to the United States and Canada, a move that sparked both prosperity and deep controversy.
Born 1948 (age 78)·President of Mexico from 1988 to 1994·Birthday: April 3·Baby Boomers
Biography
Carlos Salinas de Gortari, a Harvard-trained economist, ascended to Mexico's presidency in 1988 under a cloud of electoral controversy that saw the system famously "crash" as his opponent was gaining. His six-year term was a whirlwind of radical change. Salinas was the architect of Mexico's decisive turn toward a free-market future, systematically dismantling state-owned industries and rewriting the constitution to allow for private investment in land. His signature achievement was the negotiation and ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which inextricably linked Mexico's economic fate to that of the United States and Canada. The early 1990s saw a wave of optimism and foreign investment, but his term ended in disaster with a sudden peso devaluation, a severe economic crisis, and the eruption of the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas on the very day NAFTA took effect. Leaving office, Salinas entered self-imposed exile, his legacy a permanent, polarized debate over globalization's winners and losers.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Carlos was born in 1948, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Carlos Was Born
The biggest hits of 1948
#1 Movie
The Red Shoes
Best Picture
Hamlet
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Carlos's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1948Born
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1953Started school
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1961Became a teenager
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1964Could drive
Civil Rights Act signed; Beatles arrive in America
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $13,450Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"I Want to Hold Your Hand" — The BeatlesBest Picture: My Fair Lady
1966Could vote
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1969Turned 21
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1978Turned 30
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 40
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 50
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 60
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 70
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 78 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), creating one of the world's largest free-trade zones.
- Privatized hundreds of state-owned enterprises, including the national telephone company Telmex and the banking system.
- Initiated the National Solidarity Program (Pronasol), a major anti-poverty initiative that bypassed traditional political structures.
- Oversaw constitutional reforms that ended the decades-long land redistribution program and allowed for the privatization of communal ejido lands.
Did You Know?
His brother, Raúl Salinas, was convicted of murder and illicit enrichment, casting a long shadow over the former president's reputation.
He holds a Ph.D. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University.
Following his presidency, he lived for a time in Dublin, Ireland.
The 1988 election that brought him to power is widely considered one of Mexico's most fraudulent, with claims of a computerized system being manipulated.
“"We have lost the fear of change."”
