Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith, and Dreams of a Mexican President by Vicente Fox and Rob Allyn

Here's something you've never seen before: an ex-politician wrote a boring memoir!

Notice how the book was written by Vicente Fox and Rob Allyn, but only Fox is on the cover. What did he do to Rob Allyn? VICENTE FOX WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ROB ALLYN

Quick backstory behind how I came across this book, real quick. So, throughout most of the USA there are these stores called Dollar Tree. At Dollar Tree, everything is 1 dollar. Literally anything and everything in the store is only one American dollar. They don't even put price tags on anything because it's all the same price. One dollar.

Dollar Tree has a selection of books from time to time. Revolution of Hope happened to among them on one afternoon as I strolled through the store with my girlfriend. Down the book aisle I went, to be greeted by the cold, dead stares of three dozen Vicente Foxes (Vicente Foxi?) all looking down upon me as I stood before a myriad of one dollar books. Now, most Dollar Tree books are junk like off-brand children's coloring/activity books. The rest are typically the last remnants of whatever shitty over-printed books can be found in the bottom boxes of storage warehouses. However, some small number of books are pretty good. You can find the occasional secret hit at a place like Dollar Tree. 

This isn't really a secret hit.

I was aware of Vicente Fox, especially because the guy has recently (as the now ex-president of Mexico) made a few videos for the internet, prodding fun at American President Donald Trump. Fox has always been known as a more down-to-earth and good-humored type of guy, the kind of older guy who can attract the attention of younger voters and inspire new-age hope. Kind of like a Mexican version of Obama, only with a mustache that is as thick as a bowl of water. No, seriously. Look at that thing. Kissing Vicente Fox must feel like a wet mouse is being rubbed on your lip. That is not the kind of kiss that inspires political and social fortitude, Vicente Fox. Your kiss should leave one feeling embraced and encapsulated by a stern and consistent fuzz.

But enough about kissing Vicente Fox. Take a look at the guy making fun of Trump.

I love how Fox has to quickly peer at the backside of his sign at the start of the video, as if he actually needed to read his lines to remember "for the fucken wall". Fox, come on man. What did you possibly think the next words were going to be after "Mexico will not pay..."? Mexico will not pay for the dinner? 

This video is one of several Fox appeared in to mock and poke fun at Trump, and it gives you a pretty good idea of what kind of guy he is. I was aware of him, vaguely, though I never knew he wrote a new memoir in the wake of Trump's presidency. So in the book aisle of Dollar Tree, I reached for a copy of Vicente Fox's 1 dollar book, cracked it open and... discovered that it's a reprint edition of a book Fox wrote in 2007. It has a new forward complaining about Donald Trump, though. So that's cool, or whatever.

So, it's a memoir about Fox's time in Mexican politics as well as an overview of his life and an overview of Mexican political history. I must say that when the book is talking about the history of Mexico, it's really very interesting. I do not know nearly as much about Mexico's political background as someone really should, and the book does a great job of laying out the political shithole Mexico became under the corrupt ilk of the presidency-trading PRI political party that ruled Mexico as a more-or-less dictatorship for around seventy years. As late as the 1960's and 1970's, the Mexican government was literally sending armed thugs to just bully people off of land. In the 70's, we in the USA had the common decency to keep such things restricted solely to the Native Americans. Hell, Mexico was in such a bad shape that the PRI was literally buying the votes of impoverished Mexicans by giving them free tacos. That's right. People in Mexico were selling their votes in exchange for tacos. It's like a racist joke, but in real life.

Fox's political story is actually profoundly interesting. He and his fellows were on a literal revolutionary forefront, bringing Mexico out of a hyper-corrupt dark age and into a more proper world theater. Fox's personal life, of which ends up dominating more than half the page length, is however a little less stimulating to pore over. Fox has what I like to refer to as "A life that was probably interesting to live, but not very interesting to read about". Becoming the youngest CEO of Coca-Cola Mexico was probably one hell of a ride for a young Vicente, but it's not exactly interesting to read about.

In a lot of ways, the book is incredibly self-masturbatory. Parts of it devolve into Fox literally just jerking himself off to what a great guy he is and how everyone he knew (including his own family) knew he had to get into politics because he was just the guy the country needed and he was so great- even as Fox constantly reminds us how humble he is. It's like Fox is an actual, real life Mary Sue or something. Fox paints himself as a do-no-wrong dedicated family man who is put into his position primarily from the urging of others, because- damn it- he's Vicente Fox! Mexico needs him! Vaminos! 

The historical recounting of the corrupt PRI; the way it stole land wantonly from its own people and how, less than just eighty years ago, common men and women were fighting against their own government to maintain ownership of their land, the way it bought votes with food (leading revolutionaries to eventually coin the phrase, "take the food, but vote for someone else"), to the way Vicente Fox gives a firsthand account of Coca-Cola's defense of its product once the PRI demanded its formula in order to retain the right to sell in Mexico. Anything involving Fox's personal story does tend to get a little boring, especially because you get pulled away from all of the interesting historics to hear about it. 

The book is also, if you couldn't tell by now, pretty heavily skewed towards a message of globalism and pro-NAFTA language. The concept of a "North American Union" merging the USA, Canada and Mexico is something that gets Vicente Fox very aroused, and he isn't afraid to speak in great and frequent detail about the benefits of a more connected American continent. While I generally agree with all of this, those of a more anti-NAFTA/globalist ilk may not enjoy how biased the book is toward drumming it into your head that GLOBALISM = GOOD. 

All in all, I never found myself bored while reading this book. For as much of a self-service it is to Fox's ego, it never gets too ridiculous or portrays Fox is being a too cartoonishly over-the-top good guy. In the end, it's an interesting history of Mexico's political world and a vaguely interesting story about some Mexican dude who lived through it and eventually became its el presidente. 

Do I recommend it? I dunno. Maybe for a dollar.

POINTLESS NUMERICAL SCORE:

7/10

Legend has it that if you show Fox a map of North America with no borders, his heart rate skyrockets to an inhuman 12,000 beats per minute.