PAN Founded — Conservative Opposition Creates Mexico's Political Duopoly

Manuel Gómez Morín, a conservative Catholic intellectual and former Rector of UNAM, founded the Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) on September 16, 1939. PAN was formed partly in response to Cárdenas's land reform and anti-clerical policies. For five decades PAN contested elections but never won significant office — not until the 1983 municipal victories in Chihuahua, and ultimately Vicente Fox's 2000 presidential victory. PAN-PRI competition shaped Mexican democracy.