Margarita Zavala
Margarita Ester Zavala Gómez del Campo[1] (Spanish pronunciation: [maɾɣaˈɾita saˈβala]; born on 25 July 1967) is a Mexican lawyer and politician serving as Member of the Chamber of Deputies for Mexico City's 10th District since 2021. She is married to the former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón and served as the First Lady of Mexico during her husband's tenure. Zavala also ran as an independent candidate for the presidency of Mexico between 12 October 2017 and 16 May 2018.
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Zavala and the second or maternal family name is Gómez del Campo.
Margarita Zavala
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Early life[edit]
Margarita Zavala was born on 25 July 1967 in Mexico City. She is the fifth of seven siblings: Diego Hildebrando, Mercedes, Pablo, Juan Ignacio, Rafael and Mónica. Her parents, Diego Zavala Pérez and Mercedes Gómez del Campo, were lawyers.[2] Her father was a magistrate in the Tribunal Superior de Justicia del Distrito Federal.[3] She attended the Instituto Asunción, an academy run by nuns. She became a youth leader of the Partido Acción Nacional at age 17.[3] She first met Felipe Calderón in 1984, when both were activists for the PAN party. Zavala studied law at the Escuela Libre de Derecho,[2] where she graduated with a 9.5 (out of ten) grade point average.[3] Her thesis, La Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos: antecedentes, estructura y propuestas, was on the National Human Rights Commission.[3]
Political stances[edit]
Zavala was a proponent for constitutional amendments that would have allowed politicians to seek reelection.[5] Congress members were allowed to seek reelection since 2014 (four terms for the lower house and two for the upper house, total of 12 years, while the president remains limited to one term).[37]
Zavala opposes abortion;[12] with her only political declaration during her time as First Lady being the condemnation of the legalization of abortion in Mexico City.[12]
Following the Supreme Court's June 2015 declaration of state laws defining marriage as unconstitutional, Zavala was asked her stance on the matter in an interview on Al Punto to which she responded: the Court has been clear on same-sex marriage, including on a previous challenge to Mexico City's civil code, various resolutions make it jurisprudence and "I do not have any problem".[38] However, during an event in which she was collecting signatures for her independent candidacy, a lesbian couple with children approached her, while they were recorded, they introduced themselves to her and, as the recording shows, Zavala's immediate reaction was of shock followed by instructing the person recording to put it off saying "this is something different", then she turned again at the couple and told them "I believe..." and the recording ends abruptly. She was criticized by the media, and was asked again to clarify her position on same-sex marriage which caused her to say she regretted having done that.[39]
Personal life[edit]
After six years of dating, she married Felipe Calderón in January 1993. They have three children: María (born 1997), Luis Felipe (born 1999) and Juan Pablo (born 2003).[40]
Zavala is a Roman Catholic.[2]
On 13 June 2012, Zavala underwent surgery in her right eye to avoid retinal detachment from an injury; she was submitted to emergency surgery following a retinal detachment on 18 October 2016.[41]
Public image[edit]
Zavala became known for wearing rebozos, a traditional shawl.[42][43] Her austere personality during her time as First Lady was contrasted with the frequently outspoken Marta Sahagún.[2] Zavala's political discreteness was seen as intentional to avoid the scrutiny Sahagún received for her prominence in the Fox administration.[14][44]
