Mexican president (1958–64) who expanded industrial development and agrarian reform.

A librarian and teacher of Spanish-American literature, López began his public career with an assignment to the UN. He was elected federal senator (1946–52) and later appointed secretary-general of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). As minister of labour, he was skilled in mediating disputes and helped draft the U.S.–Mexico migrant-labour treaty. Though accusations of corruption clouded his six-year term as president, López increased industrialization, extended agrarian reform laws, stepped up state intervention in the economy, embarked upon major public health programs, and initiated a literacy campaign. Shortly after his presidential term ended, he suffered a severe stroke and lay in a coma until his death.