Ernesto Ruffo Appel is an American-born
MexicanMexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
politicianPolitics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
famous for being the first
stateThe United Mexican States is a federal republic formed by 32 federal entities .According to the Constitution of 1917, the states of the federation are free and sovereign. Each state has their own congress and constitution, while the Federal District has only limited autonomy with a local Congress...
governor not belonging to the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) since its formation in 1929.
His parents and grandparents are Mexican-born. Ruffo attended elementary school in the coastal town of
EnsenadaEnsenada is a coastal city in Mexico and the third-largest city in Baja California. It is located south of San Diego on the Baja California Peninsula. The city is locally referred to as La Cenicienta del Pacífico, or, The Cinderella of the Pacific...
in the state of
Baja CaliforniaBaja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
. He attended college at the
MonterreyMonterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
campus of the ITESM graduating with a bachelor's degree in business. He became a member of the
National Action PartyThe National Action Party , is one of the three main political parties in Mexico. The party's political platform is generally considered Centre-Right in the Mexican political spectrum. Since 2000, the President of Mexico has been a member of this party; both houses have PAN pluralities, but the...
(PAN) in 1982 and was elected
municipal presidentA presidente municipal is the chief of government of municipios in Mexico. The position is comparable to the county executive of a county in the United States or to the mayor of a city in the United States, although the jurisdiction of a presidente municipal includes not only a city but the...
of the
municipality of EnsenadaThe municipality of Ensenada, with a land area of , takes up the majority of the state of Baja California. It is the largest in Mexico by area and the Americas. It contains all of Baja California apart from a strip at the north and, at the northeast extremity of the state, the municipality of...
(which includes the towns of Ensenada and
San QuintínSan Quintín is a coastal town on the west coast of the Mexican state of Baja California, in the municipio of Ensenada. San Quintín has beautiful beaches and several places for tourists to stay. Tourists can enjoy fishing, camping, bird watching, surfing, and clam digging...
) in 1986. In 1989 he was elected governor of the state of Baja California in major
upsetAn upset occurs in a competition, frequently in electoral politics or sports, when the party popularly expected to win , is defeated by an underdog whom the majority expects to lose, defying the conventional wisdom...
. In the year 2000, he supported the candidacy of
Vicente FoxVicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...
, former President of Mexico, he was the Coordinator of Migration Affairs for the Northern Border until 2006 (when president
Fox'sVicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican former politician who served as President of Mexico from 1 December 2000 to 30 November 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected...
government ended). He is currently a
SenateThe Senate of the Republic, constitutionally Chamber of Senators of the Honorable Congress of the Union After a series of reforms during the 1990s, it is now made up of 128 senators:...
supply in the LX legislature.
He falsely has been accused of using his previous political positions to promote businesses in which he has personal investments.
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