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 Travel Writers' Resources | October 2007 
Dallas Consultant Says Telling Fox's Story Long but Easy Process
 Laurence Iliff - The Dallas Morning News
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| | Rob Allyn of North Dallas co-wrote Revolution of Hope with former Mexican President Vicente Fox, whom the Dallas resident advised for more than a decade. (Eric Kayne/DMN) |
Mexico City – Vicente Fox left office Dec. 1 as the first president from an opposition party in 71 years. Three days later, he sat down at his Guanajuato ranch with Dallas political consultant Rob Allyn to write a political memoir now making waves.
'Because I agree passionately with what the president has to say about free trade and immigration and America, it's really easy for me to tell this story,' said Mr. Allyn. 'That's what makes it worth the long hours and the time away from home.' Mr. Allyn interviewed Mr. Fox for weeks using a tape recorder and then headed to nearby Guanajuato City, where he sat alone in a restaurant day after day writing a draft.
He later worked out of his North Dallas home, shocking a family not used to seeing him during the day.
Revolution of Hope: The Life, Faith, and Dreams of a Mexican President is getting some early reviews that call it fast-paced and full of sometimes embarrassing anecdotes, like the time when an African leader grabbed Mr. Fox's buttocks as a sign of friendship.
It has also stirred controversy for some perceived criticisms of President Bush, whom Mr. Fox once embraced as a friend, although the authors say the quotes in question were taken out of context in media coverage of the book.
For Mr. Allyn, being co-author of the book represented the rare privilege of helping a friend of 10 years while cementing Mr. Fox's place in the history of Mexico and the globalization movement. Mr. Allyn also worked on Mr. Fox's 2000 campaign.
"Because I agree passionately with what the president has to say about free trade and immigration and America, it's really easy for me to tell this story," Mr. Allyn said last week at one of his favorite Mexico City restaurants. "That's what makes it worth the long hours and the time away from home. Besides, it was fun."
Mr. Allyn acknowledged that the timing may be all wrong for a pro-immigration tome.
"It's completely anti-intuitive right now. The last thing people want to hear about is free trade and immigrant labor crossing the border," he said.
But, he added, the book is a good biographical read and has important messages from a man Mr. Allyn regards as a Lech Walesa or a Nelson Mandela.
"The United States and individual Americans need to hear from foreign leaders. I think in the United States our walkie-talkie button is always pressed on 'send' " and not on "receive," Mr. Allyn said.
Neither Mr. Fox, who is famous for his blunt talk, nor Mr. Allyn wanted to write a self-congratulatory presidential memoir. Mr. Allyn said he asked tough questions, and the former president never wavered at including controversial comments in the book.
"We said from the beginning of this book, 'We're going to be honest,' " said Mr. Allyn.
For example, the two recount Mr. Bush's attempt to get Mexico to go along with the war in Iraq. Mexico at the time held a rotating seat on the U.N. Security Council. "It was unthinkable" to Mr. Fox to join the war effort, Mr. Allyn said.
But other Fox comments about Mr. Bush have been taken out of context, such as calling the U.S. president a "windshield cowboy" because he did not want to ride one of the Mexican president's horses when visiting his Guanajuato ranch in 2001.
"Every single thing President Fox has said about President Bush was offered as a compliment," Mr. Allyn said, adding that it was Mr. Bush who made the "windshield cowboy" comment about himself in a show of honesty.
Mr. Allyn said he will continue to work with Mr. Fox should the former president need him.
The two men came under fire in late 2005 when the Fox administration gave a one-year public relations contract worth $720,000 to Mr. Allyn. The contract was to help shore up Mexico's image while the U.S. Congress debated immigration policy. Mr. Allyn said the contract was completely legitimate given his deep knowledge of Mexico.
liliff@dallasnews.com |
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