Leaders – what it means to be one, what it takes to be an effective one, and how their role has changed over the last two decades, in this country and abroad – was the focus of Vicente Fox’s talk at the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek.

“We’re living in a new world. New government, new ideologies, and you really get lost,” the former president of Mexico said. “A lot of surprises every day. A lot of uncertainty every day. A lot of authoritarian governments, and we didn’t used to have that.

“We used to be very democratic, we used to be very liberal. We used to be very humane,” he continued. “Today, maybe that’s the worst thing that can happen in this world, we’re losing our humanity. We’re losing our compassion. We’re losing our love for people. And that’s not good.”

Fox was the first speaker in the 2025 Newsmakers: Lesher Speaker Series, which kicked off its 20th season Feb. 24. The annual series features politicians, journalists, and conversationalists from around the world who discuss current events and global issues.

Almost every seat in the 785-seat Hofmann Theatre was filled with Lesher members and curious fans of Fox, who returned to the speaker series after 17 years. 

Each series event is partnered with a local nonprofit organization. For this one, the Lesher Foundation chose Concord-based Fresh Approach, which is dedicated to bringing Bay Area communities fresh produce at affordable prices. Through this philosophy, it has become a leader in combating food insecurity and providing people with nutrition education.

During his almost hourlong talk, Fox emphasized the stark contrast between the state of the world during his administration and what he sees today.

“We used to go by the rules of the game, and the rules of the game used to be democracy, freedom, humanism, market economy. A lot of trading we used to do in the world. And today, there’s people claiming, ‘no more trade,’ that you can be on your own, your own nation, and your own economy, which is not true,” Fox said. “No economy can survive by itself. No country can build walls and keep people out of your nation, or worse off, to keep your people enclosed, like in a jail within four walls in your own country.

“We need to go back to the good old times where everybody would need everybody, everybody would work with everybody else, everybody would share what you would have (sic),” he added. “Today that’s not happening. But I really miss the old, good times of the past.”

A Q&A session moderated by KTVU Fox 2 anchor Claudine Wong rounded out the evening. Fox was open during the discussion and didn’t hesitate to criticize current political leaders in Latin America and the U.S. He called Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo a puppet and U.S. President Donald Trump an authoritarian.

When asked about what he would say to immigrants living in fear, Fox mentioned his book “Revolution of Hope,” in which he talks about how one of the greatest impacts he has had in his life was his childhood friends, who were 9 or 10 at the time, crying to him about leaving behind their family in Mexico to go north to the United States.

“You have a purpose and you work for it. The purpose was I’m gonna make a better living by going to the States and I’m gonna send money to my family here in Mexico. They knew they would risk their lives, and you go through the desert, and you jump the wall, and you swim the river,” Fox said. “They’re great leaders, and leadership is not conserved, it’s not exclusive to us middle classes or to us people that have higher degrees. 

“Each one of them is a leader. They took a big risk to come to this nation, but they have a motivation,” he continued. “Every action in life has a purpose. The greater that purpose is, the more heroic that purpose is, the better we will exercise our leadership.”

Along with his wife, Marta Sahagún – who joined him on this visit – the two created Centro Fox, a nonprofit institution dedicated to training responsible and compassionate leaders through its “President for a day” program.

“You’re leaders, each and every one of you. Either you can be 80 years old like me, or you can be 21 years old like this young man here,” Fox said, waving to a member of the audience. “We were gifted since our very beginning with a leadership attribute … you knew what leadership is all about, it’s making things happen, it’s dreaming, it’s thinking about a plan. Leaders can change the world.”

Loujain Habibi is a 12th grader at Liberty High School in Brentwood. Contra Costa Youth Journalism coverage of the Newsmakers series is made possible by support from the Lesher Foundation and the Bay City News Foundation. Stories are produced independently by the CCYJ news team.