Carlos María Abascal Carranza

Carlos María Abascal Carranza (b. Mexico City, June 14, 1949) is a Mexican lawyer and the Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of Vicente Fox. He is the son of the writer Salvador Abascal, famous for his synarchist ideas.

Professional career and Education

Carlos Abascal studied law at Mexico City's Escuela Libre de Derecho, graduating in 1973 with a thesis entitled "Relations between Spiritual Power and Temporal Power", in which he stated, "inter alia," that "democracy is a farce that has been used by Freemasons in Mexico... to make a confused and disoriented majority believe that its will is being done". [http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2005/07/21/039n1soc.php] He later pursued business management studies at the IPADE. For about thirty years he worked for Afianzadora Insurgentes where he began as messenger and trainee in the legal area and ended as Director and CEO. He retired from Afianzadora Insurgentes in August 2000.

Abascal has occupied different positions in private and social organizations. He has been president of the Fundación para el Desarrollo Sostenible en México (FUNDES), president of Vertebra, president of the Movimiento Social y de Administración de Valores (AVAL), vice-president of the Instituto Mexicano de Doctrina Social Cristiana (IMDOSOC), and president of the Confederación Patronal de la República Mexicana (COPARMEX).

Executive Cabinet

Abascal was one of President Vicente Fox's key cabinet members. In 2000 Fox appointed Abascal as Secretary of Labor [ [http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Mexico/Labor_After_PRI.html Labor After the PRI] Multinational Monitor magazine, March 2001] . In 2005, following Santiago Creel's resignation, Abascal was appointed Secretary of the Interior. [President Vicente Fox names Carlos Abascal Carranza to Replace Aantiago Creel at interior secretariat, findarticles entry [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb288/is_200506/ai_n15091707 here] ]

Controversy

As a conservative member of Fox's cabinet, he has been involved in a number of controversies because of his Catholic beliefs. He is opposed to some birth control methods such as abortion and the contraceptive pill [ [http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=19229&sec=4&con=6 Mexico's Catholic Church raises voice in 2006 race] Link is t to WorldWide Religious News, but report is by Reuters] . He has spoken out against "liberal" literature, including the novel "Aura" by Carlos Fuentes [ [http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/0,6000,486073,00.html The Latin master] The Guardian, May 5 2001] , which Abascal judged as inappropriate for his daughter and demanded that her private school remove it from its curriculum, as well as fire the literature teacher. [ [http://www.ueinternational.org/MLNA0501.html Mexican Labor News and Analysis] Vol 6, No. 5]

References

* [http://fox.presidencia.gob.mx/en/cabinet/?contenido=18716 Profile at Mexico's Presidency of the Republic site]