Ex-Mexican President De la Madrid dies at age 77
Source: AP
Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado, who led Mexico from 1982 to 1988 during economic crisis and a devastating earthquake, died Sunday at age 77, Mexican officials and his personal secretary said.
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De la Madrid pulled Mexico back from economic collapse during his presidency, but left it with a political crisis.
His term from 1982 to 1988 was a grim time for most Mexicans, a six-year hangover after a spending binge by a previous government that was convinced soaring oil prices would never fall. When they did, the buying power of Mexican salaries was slashed in half as inflation chewed up paychecks.
In 1985, a magnitude-8.1 earthquake killed an estimated 9,000 people and flattened parts of the capital. A fiery explosion at a government gas facility killed more than 500 people on the outskirts of Mexico City. The government's handling of the election to replace De la Madrid caused a political scandal that later helped topple the political system that dominated Mexico for most of the 20th century.
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