Luis Echeverria Alvarez, who served as President of Mexico from 1970 to 1976, died last night at the age of 100, according to current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
According to media reports, the politician died at his home in Cuernavaca, Morelos state. The cause of death was not disclosed.
Echeverria Alvarez worked for the Institutional Revolutionary Party of Mexico and won the 1969 presidential election. Six years earlier, he had headed the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Echeverría’s reign came years after the brutal shooting of a 1968 demonstration and was ambiguously assessed by experts.
In addition to success in the economy, the politician was accused of authoritarianism and waging a “dirty war” with political opponents.
In 2006, the court found Echeverria guilty of genocide. He spent three years under house arrest before being fully acquitted.
Echeverria is mentioned in history because of his struggle with rock music. After a 1971 festival attended by 300,000 people, where musicians criticized the government, Echeverría banned radio broadcasts of rock music and concerts in clubs and large squares. After he left his post, the ban was lifted.
Source: Radio Sputnik