On these following days, the national flag is flown at half staff, mostly commemorating the deaths of important heroes. At any time, the President of Mexico can issue a decree to have the flag flown at half-staff to honor the death of a person who was a major figure of the Mexican government, Mexican society, the head of state of another nation or a tragic event on a major scale. One example is that on the 19th anniversary of the Mexico City earthquake in 1985, President Vicente Fox lowered the flags to half staff to honor the estimated 6,000 people who were killed.