Where Mexico’s former presidents live after leaving office
Mexico's six living former presidents have taken very different paths after leaving office, with some remaining in Mexico and others building lives and careers in the United States and Europe.
Key points
- Three former presidents live mainly abroad
- Fox and López Obrador remain in Mexico
- Zedillo has long-standing ties to Yale
Mexico's six living former presidents have taken very different paths after leaving office, with some remaining in Mexico and others building lives and careers in the United States and Europe.
The map places Vicente Fox and Andrés Manuel López Obrador in Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo in the United States, Carlos Salinas de Gortari in Britain, and Felipe Calderón and Enrique Peña Nieto in Spain.
The broad picture is largely correct, although some of the locations require more qualification than the map suggests.
Fox and López Obrador remain in Mexico
Vicente Fox, who governed from 2000 to 2006 and ended the Institutional Revolutionary Party's 71-year hold on the presidency, lives on his ranch in Guanajuato. An August 2026 interview with El País was conducted at his home in San Francisco del Rincón, confirming that he remains based in the state.
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Andrés Manuel López Obrador, president from 2018 to 2024, moved to his property near Palenque, Chiapas, after leaving office. He has largely withdrawn from day-to-day politics and has said he spends much of his retirement walking, reading and writing. Recent Mexican reporting continues to identify Palenque as his residence.
Former president Ernesto Zedillo, meanwhile, has been closely associated with New Haven, Connecticut, for more than two decades. He joined Yale University in 2002 and remains director of the Yale Centre for the Study of Globalisation and a professor of international economics and politics.
Spain has attracted several former presidents
Enrique Peña Nieto, who governed Mexico from 2012 to 2018, established legal residency in Spain after leaving office. He received a Spanish investor visa in 2020 and later bought a home outside Madrid. His residence permit was renewed through 2027, according to reporting by El País.
Felipe Calderón, president from 2006 to 2012, obtained permission to live and work in Spain in 2022. More recent reporting indicates that he divides his time between Mexico and Madrid, meaning the infographic's simple placement of him in Madrid leaves out some context.
The location of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, president from 1988 to 1994, is less clear-cut. He has lived outside Mexico for years and has been reported as spending substantial time in Britain and Spain. He also obtained Spanish citizenship in 2021. Older reporting supports his connection to the United Kingdom, but describing London as his definitive current residence in 2026 is harder to verify from reliable public records.
The six former leaders therefore do not fit neatly into a simple Mexico-versus-abroad split. Fox and López Obrador are clearly based in Mexico, Zedillo has a long-established academic career in the United States, and several others have established European residences or divide their time between countries.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
