He was in charge of the Dirección Federal de Seguridad secret police at the midst of the "dirty war" (1964–1970), and served as governor of Veracruz (1986–1988) and as Secretary of the Interior in the cabinet of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

His parents were Fernando Gutiérrez Ferrer and Ana María Barrios.

He graduated from the Colegio Militar military academy in 1947 and joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1950.

He took the oath of office on September 1, 2000, but died around two months later, on October 30.

This article about an Institutional Revolutionary Party politician is a stub.