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SALT LAKE CITY — Vicente Fox, former president of Mexico, will speak at the University of Utah on Tuesday, Feb. 12, as a guest of the Tanner Humanities Center.
Fox, featured speaker of the center's 2019 World Leaders Lecture Forum, will speak on “Building Bridges: Fixing the Immigration Issue and Strengthening U.S.-Mexico Relations.” Fox will speak at 11 a.m. at Kingsbury Hall.
The lecture is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Tickets can be obtained at the Kingsbury Hall box office beginning Tuesday, Jan. 22, at 10 a.m.
President of Mexico between 2000 and 2006, Fox began his career working for Coca-Cola Mexico as a delivery truck driver and route supervisor. He rose up the ranks to become the company’s president and oversee its Latin American operations.
He entered public service with his election to the federal Chamber of Deputies and then as governor of Guanajuato before running for president.
As president, Fox spearheaded economic and educational reforms, negotiated trade and immigration policies with the United States and tackled government corruption.
"We are very pleased that President Fox accepted our invitation to speak,” said Bob Goldberg, director of the Tanner Humanities Center.
“As important events in the relationship between Mexico and the United States continue to unfold, President Fox’s knowledge, experience and insights will help us to understand not only mutual concerns but provide insights to find necessary solutions."
In May 2006, then-President Fox visited Utah after accepting the invitation of then-Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Fox addressed members of the Utah Legislature during the visit. It marked the first time a Mexican president visited the Beehive State. Fox's four-day U.S. trip also included stops in Seattle, Los Angeles and Sacramento.
Huntsman extended the invitation when he met Fox during a trade mission to Mexico City in 2005.