Gilberto Rincón Gallardo

Infobox Politician
name = Gilberto Rincón Gallardo y Meltis


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birth_date = Birth date|1939|5|15
birth_place = flagicon|MEXMexico City, Mexico
nationality = Mexican
death_date = Death date and age|2008|08|30|1939|5|15
death_place = flagicon|MEXMexico City, Mexico
party = National Action Party
Mexican Communist Party
Unified Socialist Party of Mexico
Mexican Socialist Party
Party of the Democratic Revolution
Social Democracy
Party of the Rose
relations = Silvia Pavón Hampshire (? - 2008)
residence =
alma_mater = National Autonomous University of Mexico
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Gilberto Rincón Gallardo y Meltis (May 15, 1939 - August 30, 2008) was a Mexican politician, activist and former presidential candidate.

Biography

Rincón Gallardo was born into an upper-class family in Mexico City composed of Gilberto Rincón Gallardo Gallardo and Blanca Meltis González. At age 19 he became involved in politics when he joined the 1958 presidential campaign of Luis H. Álvarez, a prominent figure of the conservative National Action Party. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in law from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and following his participation in several railroad workers' protests, he shifted politically to the left, where he participated in several political parties (some of which he represented at the Chamber of Deputies).

With Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Heberto Castillo and others he co-founded the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which he left in the nineties arguing that its internal political struggles and dogmatism had frustrated any chance of becoming a modern socialist party. Subsequently he went on to build the Social Democracy Party (in Spanish: "Partido Democracia Social") an institution that tried to introduce the Social Democracy ideology in Mexico, but failed to keep its official recognition by some 20,000 votes in the July 2, 2000 election in which he ran as the party's presidential candidate.

In spite of the results, three years later he relaunched his platform as the Party of the Rose "(Partido de la Rosa)", which couldn't achieve official recognition because the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) refused to recognize its statutes. Rincón Gallardo built an impressive legal team lead by former general prosecutor Jorge Carpizo McGregor to challenge its decision but eventually failed to change the veredict.

As an activist, his harsh criticism to the Mexican government in the seventies prompted several acts of repression and a political incarceration in the midst of the Mexican "dirty war". Since he was born with a physical disability, he also advocated better public policies toward the disabled and other social minorities [ cite news | title = Mexican politician Rincon Gallardo dies at 69| publisher= Associated Press | date=2008-08-30| url = http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080831/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/obit_rincon_gallardo;_ylt=Apks9sw0Ncg4BZ0xcazf6e1vaA8F] .

Then-President Vicente Fox appointed him president of the National Council to Prevent Discrimination "(Consejo Nacional para Prevenir la Discriminación, CONAPRED)" on July 11, 2003. He held the position until his death.

Following 10 days of hospitalization Rincón Gallardo died in Mexico City on August 30, 2008 at age 69. He is survived by his wife Silvia Pavón Hampshire.

References