Along with other leading opposition politicians, he was one of the founders of the National Action Party (PAN) in 1939.
Calderón Vega, who married María del Carmen Hinojosa González, was a prominent politician in his native Michoacán.
He also authored several books, including the seminal political overview of the so-called "1915 Generation", Los Siete Sabios de México.
Pioneers in this institution were professors Javier Ibarrola, J. Praxedis Alfaro, Porfirio Martínez Peñalosa, Dr. Borja León Márquez, Manuel Martín del Campo, Lic.
Rafael Morelos Zapien, Gabriel Bobadilla, Raúl Zepeda Medina, Melesio de Jesús Vargas, Luis Bravo, Eugenio Romero, Miguel Hernández, Fernando Calderón, Jorge Camacho, Felio Mirabent, Alfonso Rubio, Fr.