Martha Sahagun De Fox

Now that Mexico's most talked about office romance has ended with the marriage of President Vicente Fox and Martha Sahagun, the bride can turn to shaping her new role as possibly the most public, powerful and controversial first lady this nation has ever had. Mexican first ladies traditionally have been ornaments whose only official task is the largely ceremonial role of leading the country's major family welfare agency.

Mexican first lady Marta Sahagun, whose putative political ambitions have divided her countrymen and drawn criticism from abroad in recent months, said Monday that she would not try to succeed her husband, Vicente Fox, as president of Mexico. "I have said it and I repeat it: Mexico is ready to be governed by a woman," Sahagun said at a news conference at Los Pinos, the presidential residence. "Nevertheless, I want to affirm that I will not be a candidate for the presidency of the republic."

When Mexico's president and first lady walked into a poor neighborhood in the southeastern city of Merida last month, an excited crowd greeted them with shouts of "Marta! Marta!" "They want to see her more than they want to see me," President Vicente Fox joked. Then he said to the crowd: "Here she comes. Grab her!" Willingly or not, the towering Fox is finding his presidency overshadowed by his ambitious wife.

When Mexico's president and first lady walked into a poor neighborhood in the southeastern city of Merida last month, an excited crowd greeted them with shouts of "Marta! Marta!" "They want to see her more than they want to see me," President Vicente Fox joked. Then he said to the crowd: "Here she comes. Grab her!" Willingly or not, the towering Fox is finding his presidency overshadowed by his ambitious wife.

Mexican first lady Marta Sahagun, whose putative political ambitions have divided her countrymen and drawn criticism from abroad in recent months, said Monday that she would not try to succeed her husband, Vicente Fox, as president of Mexico. "I have said it and I repeat it: Mexico is ready to be governed by a woman," Sahagun said at a news conference at Los Pinos, the presidential residence. "Nevertheless, I want to affirm that I will not be a candidate for the presidency of the republic."

Maria Felix, an icon of the golden age of Mexican cinema and one of the 20th century's classic Latin beauties, died here early Monday on her 88th birthday. The cause of death was congestive heart failure, her doctors said. In a career that spanned 47 movies--including the classics "Dona Barbara," "La Cucaracha" and "Enamorada"--Felix became an international sex symbol while creating the prototype of the strong Latin woman, humble yet noble, irresistible yet untamable, tender yet authoritarian.

Pope John Paul II proclaimed Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin the Roman Catholic Church's first indigenous American saint Wednesday and, in a colorful Mass blending Aztec and European traditions, challenged Mexico to end the racism and neglect that mire its Indian minority in poverty.

Mexican President Vicente Fox insisted Wednesday that his nation and the United States must and can reach agreement on immigration reform by the end of this year, throwing a surprising challenge at President Bush on the first day of the Mexican leader's state visit. Invoking the plight of his citizens with fervor, Fox declared during a highly choreographed welcome ceremony at the White House that legalizing the status of illegal Mexican workers can be achieved.

The Roman Catholic hierarchy in this fervidly Catholic country prefers silent ways of confronting scandal. Last month, after learning about "The Crime of Father Amaro," several bishops arranged to watch a private screening of the unreleased film at Interior Ministry headquarters. One bishop was so offended he walked out before the end. Carlos Carrera's movie portrays a small-town Mexican priest who struggles with his celibacy vows and has sex with a 16-year-old girl.

Now that Mexico's most talked about office romance has ended with the marriage of President Vicente Fox and Martha Sahagun, the bride can turn to shaping her new role as possibly the most public, powerful and controversial first lady this nation has ever had. Mexican first ladies traditionally have been ornaments whose only official task is the largely ceremonial role of leading the country's major family welfare agency.