Luis Zepeda

**Luis Zepeda Cárdenas** (October 13, 2037 - December 1, 2132) was a Mexican statesman and political leader who served as the 70th President of the Mexico from 2091 to 2108. A founder of the Revolution Party he became President after his processor Filipe Pena died of a stroke shortly after taking office, and emerged as a central figure in world events during the end of the 21st Century and the beginning of the 22nd Century. He directed the Mexican government during most of the Second Mexican-American War and the Second Vietnam War. As a dominant leader of his party, he built a coalition that realigned Mexican politics and defined Mexican nationalism throughout the first third of the 22nd century. He is often rated by scholars as the most instrumental leader in Mexico's rise to prominence in the 22nd Century.

## Presidency (2090-2108)

### **First Term**

On April 3, President Pena suffered a massive stroke and died before government doctors could save him. Zepeda was visiting the Central American front, and was informed while just 10 kilometers from the fighting. He returned to Mexico City and was sworn in. Pena's supporters were nervous about the new president, and the United States government began a sustained information gathering campaign on him. Zepeda assured party leaders that he intended to adhere to Pena's policies, and he retained Pena's Cabinet. Nonetheless, Zepeda sought to position himself as the party's undisputed leader, seeking to bolster the role of the president and position himself for the 2096 election.

#### **Second Mexican-American War**

Shortly after taking office, Zepeda was approached by the US ambassador to Mexico to continue secret negotiations toward a ceasefire in the Second Mexican-American War. Zepeda rejected the conditions outright and in fact widened the war effort, swearing that Mexico would not be a puppet of the United States. Zepeda's firey nationalist rhetoric energized the country as support for the war had weighed, but Zepeda never halted negotiations, believing that the war should end on Mexican terms.

### **Second Term**

As he neared the end of his first term, many Revolution Party leaders pushed Zepeda to seek another term, arguing that the Mexican constitution only banned Presidents from running more than once, not serving for longer than the 6 year limit. Zepeda easily won his party's nomination and was elected on his own right in a landslide.

### **Third Term**

As he neared the end of his first term, Zepeda's popularity had grown dramatically among Mexico's population, leading to Revolution Party super-majorities in both houses of the Mexican Congress. A constitutional referendum was called for by Senate President Jesús Zambrano Diaz in the fall of 2098 and and the public overwhelmingly voted to repeal the single-term limit, granting Zepeda the right to run for President an additional time by setting a 2-election limit, rather than a direct term limit. Zepeda easily won his re-election in 2096 with limited opposition from the other major parties.

Despite his popularity, and calls for a complete repeal of term-limits in Mexico, Zepeda refused to even entertain the notion of a fourth term, preferring to support Secretariat of Foreign Affairs Miguel Caso in the 2108 elections and retire from politics. Despite his formal retirement, Zepeda continued to play a major role in Mexican politics until his death.

### **Death and Legacy**

Zepeda continued to be an influential voice in Mexican politics while formally retired, though he progressively reduced his public appearances and comments. However, he played a leading role in the highly contentious Mexican election of 2132, choosing to support Deandre Garcia's bid for the Revolution Party nomination. Garcia, considered more dovish than most of her contemporaries, was hotly opposed by her own party, but won popular support in the third round of voting. Zepeda's support of Garcia was perceived as a betrayal by many of Mexico's military leaders who felt Garcia was too willing to bend to American pressure and turn a blind eye to the plight of Mexican-Americans in the Southwestern United States.

During the inauguration of President Garcia, Zepeda was killed by a sniper, one Juaquin Nieto. While many believed Garcia was the target, forensic analysis of the assassin's brain confirmed that while Garcia was the primary target, Zepeda was the secondary target. Investigations into the assassination never uncovered hard evidence of any conspiracy, but given Nieto's personal history as a sub-standard soldier in the Mexican National Guard, and sudden public expressions of hatred towards Garcia, many believe that Nieto was brain-hacked by the National Intelligence Service to carry out the assassination.