Mexican peso crisis in the context of 1994 Mexican general election

The Mexican peso (symbol: $; currency code: MXN; also abbreviated Mex$ to distinguish it from other peso-denominated currencies; referred to as the peso, Mexican peso, or colloquially varo) is the official currency of Mexico. The peso was first introduced in 1863, replacing the old Spanish colonial real. The Mexican peso is subdivided into 100 centavos, represented by "¢". Mexican banknotes are issued by the Bank of Mexico in various denominations and feature vibrant colors and imagery representing Mexican culture and history. Modern peso and dollar currencies have a common origin in the 16th–19th century Spanish dollar, most continuing to use its sign, "$".

The current ISO 4217 code for the peso is MXN; the "N" refers to the "new peso". Prior to the 1993 revaluation, the code MXP was used. The Mexican peso is the 16th most traded currency in the world, the third most traded currency from the Americas (after the United States dollar and Canadian dollar), and the most traded currency from Latin America. As of 11 November 2025, the peso's exchange rate was $18.32 per U.S. dollar, $13.07 per Canadian dollar, $24.07 per Pound sterling and $21.21 per Euro.

Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León (Spanish pronunciation: [eɾˈnesto seˈðiʝo]; born 27 December 1951) is a Mexican economist and politician. He was the 61st president of Mexico from 1994 to 2000, as the last of the uninterrupted 71-year line of Mexican presidents from the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Father of Modern Democracy in Mexico, his non-interventionist policy yielded transparent results on the 2000 Mexican general election.

During his presidency, he faced one of the worst economic crises in Mexico's history, which started only weeks after taking office. While he distanced himself from his predecessor Carlos Salinas de Gortari, blaming his administration for the crisis, and overseeing the arrest of Salinas' brother Raúl Salinas de Gortari, he continued the neoliberal policies of his two predecessors. His administration was also marked by renewed clashes with the EZLN and the Popular Revolutionary Army; the controversial implementation of Fobaproa to rescue the national banking system; a political reform that allowed residents of the Federal District (Mexico City) to elect their own mayor; the privatization of national railways and its subsequent suspension of the passenger rail service; and the Aguas Blancas and Acteal massacres perpetrated by State forces.

Fobaproa (from the Spanish: Fondo Bancario de Protección al Ahorro, lit. 'Savings Protection Banking Fund') was a contingencies fund created in 1990 by the Mexican government, led by then dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), to attempt to resolve liquidity problems of the banking system. The contingencies fund was applied in 1995 during the Mexican peso crisis to protect Mexican banks. In 1998, it was replaced by Instituto para la Protección al Ahorro Bancario (Bank Savings Protection Institute), Mexico's current deposit insurance agency.

In the years following the peso crisis, Fobaproa and its resulting debt has become a subject of controversy in Mexican politics. Beneficiaries of the fund were companies favored by the country's political leadership and were implicated in a number of corruption cases. The management of the Fobaproa funds drew significant criticism by Mexico's then two main opposition parties, the Party of the Democratic Revolution and the National Action Party, where it represented a prominent issue during the 2000 Mexican general election.