In 1977, Calderón received a graduate degree in Jurisprudence and Social Sciences from Universidad Nacional de El Salvador.

[citation needed] As Mayor of San Salvador from 1988 to 1994 he built the Monument to "Hermano Lejano" at the end of the Comalapa Highway and Blvd.

[citation needed] When he ran for president in 1994 he won the presidential office during the runoff elections against the leftist candidate, Dr. Ruben Zamora from the CD-FMLN coalition.

He advocated the privatization of state owned telephone companies and pension funds to stimulate the economy and modernize the country's infrastructure.

This had the unintended consequence of disrupting small scale farming, driving migration to larger cities (and abroad, especially the U.S.) and creating a cheaper labour supply for the maquilas.