Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca

Francisco Cabeza de Vaca is the senior Senator from the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. He currently serves as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and member of the Senate Energy Committee.

He began his political career in 1999 when he joined the National Action Party (PAN), and in 2000, seizing an opportunity to make a major change in his district, ran for congress becoming the first opposition party member elected to represent District 2 hailing from Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

Four years later in 2004 after a successful term in Congress, he ran for Mayor of Reynosa, and in a historic turnout election won his election with more votes than any other Mayor before him. As Mayor of his native Reynosa (2005-2007) he managed to position the city nationally as one of the top 10 in the country to live and invest, creating greater job opportunities and raising the standard of living for all citizens.

Domestic and foreign investment was evident during his time as Mayor, with the establishment of dozens of domestic and foreign companies that invested in the city during the three years of his administration, in fact, Reynosa positioned itself as the city with most employment opportunities in the state due to the fact that out of 10 sources of work in Tamaulipas, 7 originated in Reynosa.

After his term as Mayor, from 2008 to 2010, he served his hometown as Reynosa City Councilman until appointed by former President Felipe Calderon as Director of the Commission for the Regularization of Land Tenure (CORETT), in Mexico City, Mexico.

In 2012, seeing another opportunity to serve his constituency in Tamaulipas, he threw his hat into the race for Senate and wins 7 of the 8 federal electoral districts in the state beating his PRI opponent, the former governor of Tamaulipas, by over 10 percentage points.

In the Senate, he presides over the Armed Services Committee (Army) and the Committee on Agrarian Reform; he is Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Navy and a member of the Committees on Energy and Communications and Transport.

Recognizing yet another opportunity to make a difference, of which there has not been a political party change in over 86 years, as of January 29, 2016, Senator Cabeza de Vaca has petitioned the Senate for a license to run for Governor of his home state of Tamaulipas as the PAN candidate.

Francisco is the only bi-national Senator that understands both sides of the border and knows what it takes to bring more jobs, enhanced commerce, and get the security issues under control in his home state by partnering with Texas and the United States to form a climate of understanding and better cooperation.

The Senator has been recognized at the local, state and federal level in both Mexico and the United States for his numerous accomplishments and willingness to build bridges of cooperation that have led to regional prosperity.

Senator Cabeza de Vaca studied Business Administration and Marketing at Houston Baptist University in Houston, TX, is married and blessed with three daughters of the same age.

Initiatives presented as Senator

Senator Cabeza de Vaca’s actions taken during the course of the sixty-second and so far the sixty-third Federal Legislature are aimed at solving problems faced at the national level, many of them intensified in the state of Tamaulipas.

Many of the initiatives presented by Senator Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca in the Senate are focused in a way to provide the tools necessary for the Mexican government to eradicate the criminal diversification of organized crime. Soe of the legislation he has pushed includes:

• Impose stricter sanctions against judges, magistrates and politicians who are involved with criminal organizations.

• Criminally punish any authority that authorizes or is responsible for the construction in areas of risk.

• Criminalize the misuse, falsification and impersonation of law enforcement uniforms and insignias by unauthorized personnel.

• Criminalize extortion as a product of organized crime.

• Add extortion to the list of crimes to which property forfeiture is applied.

• Criminalize “Halconeo”, or the act of informing or surveillance of people or places with the intent of benefiting illegal activity.

• Initiative to regulate video surveillance in public places. Camcorders have become a tool used by organized crime in their criminal activities.