He was the mayor of San Pedro Garza García, former senator and current member of the board of Grupo Alfa, a Monterrey-based chemical, food and auto-parts producer.

He is the founder and president of Comercializadora de Puros, Uniser (Havana, Cuba), Artesanarte and the Museo del Ojo in García, Nuevo León.

In June 2005 he sold one of his companies, Especialidades Cerveceras, S.A. (the makers of premium beer Casta) to Fomento Económico Mexicano (FEMSA), the world's second-largest Coca-Cola bottler.

[2] During his campaign, Fernández Garza focused on promoting his anti-crime policies, as the growing crime wave was of concern for many citizens of San Pedro, the wealthiest municipality/city in Mexico.

[4] One of his main strategies against the rising crime rate was the implementation of an "intelligence" body, which operated in secrecy and was financed by the city's wealthy businessmen.