[2][4] While López Obrador and the PRD disputed the results and called for a complete recount of the votes, Calderón's victory was confirmed months later by the Federal Electoral Tribunal.

[2] His presidency was marked by his declaration of war against the country's drug cartels only ten days after taking office; this was considered by most observers as a strategy to gain popular legitimacy after the convoluted elections.

[14] Other significant events during Calderón's presidency include the 2007 establishment of ProMéxico, a public trust fund that promotes Mexico's interests in international trade and investment,[15] the 2008 passing of criminal justice reforms (fully implemented in 2016),[16] the 2009 swine flu pandemic, the 2010 establishment of the Agencia Espacial Mexicana, the 2011 founding of the Pacific Alliance and the achievement of universal healthcare[17] through Seguro Popular (passed under the Fox administration) in 2012.

His administration sought to maintain moderate positions on social policy and supported Mexican legislation guaranteeing abortion for rape victims, when pregnancy endangers a woman's life or in cases of significant fetal deformities;[23] has publicly advocated the legalization of small quantities of cocaine and other drugs for addicts who agree to undergo treatment;[24] and approved a right-to-die initiative for ill patients to refuse invasive treatment or extraordinary efforts to prolong their lives.

Afterwards, Fox read a short speech indicating that he had concluded his mandate by receiving the flag "that had accompanied him during the last six years which he had devoted himself completely to the service of Mexico and had the utmost honor of being the president of the republic".

[39] Besides the claims of fraud, Calderón took office with the smallest percentage of votes for a winning presidential candidate in Mexican history (35.8%), which meant that his administration would face severe legitimacy problems.

[48] Calderón also dispatched military forces all over Mexico since the beginning of his presidency to put down the drug cartels and the increasing violence generated by the criminal organizations that fight with rival groups for territory.

President Calderón appeared on television explaining the situation and demonstrating basic precautionary measures to take during the epidemic such as coughing into one's elbow rather than into the air.

[51] The Mexican Genome Project was initiated by Calderón's administration in part as a response to the swine flu outbreak and to safeguard the discovering of genetic markers that will better target and assist Mexico's 100+ million people in regards to prevention and treatment of diseases and other health concerns such as diabetes.

However, knowledge of genomic variability in the Mexican population can allow the identification of genetic variations that confer susceptibility to common diseases, including infections such as the flu."

"[52] Felipe Calderón's administration raised awareness of environment issues including deforestation and climate change through various policy measures such as planting over 8 million trees and attracting green-technology companies to Mexico.

[54] The country's total GDP on a purchasing-power-parity basis is the 11th largest in the world as of 2011[update] and public policy now seeks to create quality jobs, reduce poverty and protect the standard of living of all classes.

[56][57] The administration has accelerated the building of public works projects and allocated federal funds towards infrastructure such as roads and bridges as an investment in the country's future growth.

Because tortillas are the main food product consumed by the country's poorest,[63] national concerns over the rising prices immediately generated political pressure on Calderón's administration.

[70] Fulfilling an electoral promise, President Calderón launched the First Employment Program, which aims to create new opportunities for people entering the job market.

The program will give cash incentives to companies for hiring first-time job holders, including young people graduating from higher education and millions of women who have never worked.

The president of the Mexican Association of Directors in Human Relations, Luis García, has anticipated a positive effect and even showed Nextel's subsidiary in Mexico as an example for hiring 14% of its new workforce in 2006 as people in their "first employment".

[76][77] Like his opponent in the 2006 election, Calderón also proposed laws that, if passed, would lower salaries for public servants in all three branches of government and impose a cap on compensation.

Calderón's government also ordered massive raids on drug cartels upon assuming office in December 2006 in response to an increasingly deadly spate of violence in his home state of Michoacán.

[85] The government was relatively successful in detaining drug lords; however, drug-related violence remained high in contested areas along the U.S. border such as Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, and Matamoros.

Javier Francisco Arredondo Verdugo, 23, and Jorge Antonio Mercado Alonso, 24, students at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Nuevo León, were killed by the Mexican Army on 19 March 2010 in Mexico.

President Calderón's support for his minister was highly controversial during his term in office, with the latter's connections to drug trafficking widely denounced by the press and opposition parties.

Hours before Calderón's arrival, lawmakers from the PRD and PAN parties began a brawl,[121] in which several representatives threw punches and pushed, while others shouted at each other.

At 9:45 am CST, all Mexican media cut to the official national broadcast, where commentators discussed the situation and showed scenes inside the Palace of the Chamber of Deputies, Palacio de San Lázaro.

[129] In 2012, journalist Julio Scherer García published a book entitled "Calderón de cuerpo entero", based on interviews with former president of the National Action Party, Manuel Espino Barrientos.

[130] In March 2017, five years after the end of his Presidency, Felipe Calderón attended a rally to support the candidacy of Josefina Vázquez Mota as governor of the State of Mexico.

[132] On 10 July 2013, Mexican newspaper Excélsior ran an article on its website revealing that the Calderón administration authorized in February 2007 the installation of an interception system by the United States Department of State to analyse, process and store phone calls, e-mails and other internet services with the purpose of helping Calderón administration to fight organized crime and narcotraffic, in the context of the Mérida Initiative.

[138] Mexican journalist Raymundo Riva-Palacio criticized (on his columns of 21 and 23 October) the privileges given by the Calderón administration to American intelligences agencies and bilateral cooperation in general, and wrote: "It can be argued that Washington mocked him and betrayed him".

[139][140] On 22 October 2013, CNNMéxico published on its website that Calderón avoided sending sensitive information through his e-mail, to outsmart spies, and when realized phone calls with other cabinet members, spoke in code.

[141] On 23 October 2013, the Secretary of the Interior, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, stated that, by presidential mandate, an exhaustive investigation would be carried out on the illegal spying done towards Calderón.