Events in the year 2001 in Mexico.
Incumbents Federal government President: Vicente Fox PAN
Interior Secretary (SEGOB): Santiago Creel Secretary of Foreign Affairs (SRE): Jorge Castañeda Gutman Communications Secretary (SCT): Pedro Cerisola Education Secretary (SEP): Reyes Tamez Secretary of Defense (SEDENA): Gerardo Clemente Vega Secretary of Navy (SEMAR): Marco Antonio Peyrot González Secretary of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS): José Carlos María Abascal Carranza Secretary of Welfare (SEDESOL): Josefina Vázquez Mota Tourism Secretary (SECTUR): Leticia Navarro Secretary of the Environment (SEMARNAT): Víctor Lichtinger Secretary of Health (SALUD): Julio Frenk Attorney General of Mexico (PRG): Rafael Macedo de la Concha
Supreme Court
President of the Supreme Court: Genaro David Góngora Pimentel
Governors
Aguascalientes: Felipe González González PAN Baja California Alejandro González Alcocer PAN, until October 31. Eugenio Elorduy Walther PAN, starting November 1. Baja California Sur: Leonel Cota Montaño PRD Campeche: José Antonio González Curi Chiapas: Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía PRD Chihuahua: Patricio Martínez García PRI Coahuila: Enrique Martínez y Martínez PRI Colima: Fernando Moreno Peña PRI Durango: Ángel Sergio Guerrero Mier PRI Guanajuato: Juan Carlos Romero Hicks PAN Guerrero: René Juárez Cisneros PRI Hidalgo: Manuel Ángel Núñez Soto PRI Jalisco: Alberto Cárdenas PAN State of Mexico: Arturo Montiel PRI Michoacán: Víctor Manuel Tinoco Rubí PRI Morelos: Sergio Estrada Cajigal Ramírez PAN. Nayarit: Antonio Echevarría Domínguez Nuevo León: Fernando Canales Clariond PAN Oaxaca: José Murat Casab PRI Puebla: Melquíades Morales PRI Querétaro: Ignacio Loyola Vera PAN Quintana Roo: Joaquín Hendricks Díaz PRI San Luis Potosí: Fernando Silva Nieto Sinaloa: Juan S. Millán PRI Sonora: Armando López Nogales Tabasco: Enrique Priego Oropeza PRI, acting governor January 1-December 31 Tamaulipas: Tomás Yarrington PRI Tlaxcala: Alfonso Sánchez Anaya PRD Veracruz: Miguel Alemán Velasco PRI Yucatán: Víctor Cervera Pacheco PRI Zacatecas: Ricardo Monreal PRD Head of Government of the Federal District: Andrés Manuel López Obrador PRD
Events
January
Soldiers on patrol near Lindavista, Guerrero shoot at two unarmed civilians, killing 14-year-old Esteban Martínez Nazario.
Five workers at the Kukdong apparel factory in Puebla are dismissed for organizing an independent union, sparking a work stoppage.
March March 16: Mexico City’s municipal government announces plans to transition city computers to the Linux operating system, with the goal of reducing software costs.
April April 29: The Guadalajara Mexico Temple is opened in Mexico City.
June Mexican presidential expenses controversy - The newspaper Milenio reports that President Vicente Fox’s office spent around US$440,000 redecorating two cabins in Los Pinos, including $400 towels and $1,500 sheets, sparking a public controversy.
July The PAN win the gubernatorial election in Baja California, while the PRI regain the mayoralty of Chihuahua and make gains in Durango and Zacatecas.Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2002 - Mexico, 18 December 2001, https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/freehou/2001/en/29998 [accessed 16 September 2025]
August Gay activist César Salazar Gongora is kidnapped and assaulted in Mérida, Yucatán, later facing threats for filing a complaint.
September September 11: The 9/11 Terrorist attacks in the U.S. kill 31 Mexican citizens and prompt widespread sympathy in Mexico. September 28: Nuestra Belleza México 2001
October October 18: Human rights lawyer Digna Ochoa is found murdered in her Mexico City office; with a note left at the scene threatening her colleagues.
November November 22: The Mexican Council on Foreign Relations is established November 27: President Vicente Fox appoints a special prosecutor to investigate more than 500 forced disappearances from the 1970s.
December Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, convicted in the 1985 killing of DEA agent Enrique Camarena, is acquitted of drug trafficking charges but remains imprisoned.
Undated
Mexico launches the e-México initiative, aiming to provide nationwide Internet access and offer online educational, health, and government services. The project receives no funding in 2001. Pemexgate is uncovered.
Awards
Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor – José Ezequiel Iturriaga Sauco Order of the Aztec Eagle National Prize for Arts and Sciences National Public Administration Prize Ohtli Award Marco Antonio Firebaugh Raúl Héctor Castro Carlos Cortez Enrique Moreno Cecilia Muñoz
Births January 17 - Angie Vazquez, Mexican singer, and banded from Vazquez Sounds. August 24 – Mildred Maldonado, rhythmic gymnast
Deaths
June 3 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor, painter, writer, and film director (b. 1915)
Hurricanes
August 14–22: Tropical Storm Chantal (2001) September 21 – October 3: Hurricane Juliette (2001) October 4–9: Hurricane Iris
Film
List of Mexican films of 2001
Sport
Primera División de México Verano 2001 Primera División de México Invierno 2001 Mexico loses 2001 Copa América final to Colombia Sin Piedad (2001) Juicio Final (2001) 2001 Centrobasket is held in Toluca, Estudiantes de Altamira and Estudiantes de Xalapa are founded.
References