2001 in Mexico

← 2000 1999 1998 2001 in Mexico → 2002 2003 2004
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	History of Mexico List of years in Mexico Timeline of Mexican history

Events in the year 2001 in Mexico.

Incumbents

Federal government

• President: Vicente Fox PAN

See also: Cabinet of Mexico

• 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

See also: National Supreme Court of Justice

• 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. ^[1]
• 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. ^[2]

• Five workers at the Kukdong apparel factory in Puebla are dismissed for organizing an independent union, sparking a work stoppage. ^[2]

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. ^[3]

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. ^[4]

August

• Gay activist César Salazar Gongora is kidnapped and assaulted in Mérida, Yucatán, later facing threats for filing a complaint. ^[2]

September

• September 11: The 9/11 Terrorist attacks in the U.S. kill 31 Mexican citizens and prompt widespread sympathy in Mexico. ^[5]
• 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. ^{[2] [4]}

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. ^[4]

December

• Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, convicted in the 1985 killing of DEA agent Enrique Camarena, is acquitted of drug trafficking charges but remains imprisoned. ^[4]

Undated

• Mexico launchs 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. ^[6]
• Pemexgate is uncovered.

Awards

Main article: Orders, decorations, and medals of Mexico

• Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honor – José Ezequiel Iturriaga Sauco ^[7]
• 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 ^[8]

Deaths

• June 3 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor, painter, writer, and film director (b. 1915) ^[9]

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

1. Cinta, Guillermo (Nov 19, 2018). "LA HISTORIA DEL NARCO EN MORELOS". La Crónica de Morelos | Noticias | Guillermo Cinta (in Spanish). Retrieved August 28, 2020.
2. "Human Rights Watch World Report 2002: Americas: Mexico". www.hrw.org. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
3. Scheeres, Julia. "Mexico City Says Hola to Linux". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2025-09-16.
4. 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]
5. Kraul, Chris (2001-09-20). "Mexico Braces for Broad Effects of Altered U.S. Policy, Economy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
6. Scheeres, Julia. "Mexico Wants an E-Revolution". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2025-09-16.
7. "El Universal - - Fallece el historiador José Iturriaga Sauco". archivo.eluniversal.com.mx (in Spanish). El Universal. 19 Feb 2011. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
8. "Rhythmic Gymnastics | Athlete Profile: MALDONADO Mildred - Pan American Games Lima 2019". wrsd.lima2019.pe. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
9. "Anthony Quinn Biography", Biography.com, June 18, 2019, archived from the original on August 24, 2019, retrieved Aug 24, 2019