* Carlos Castillo Peraza; Mexican Political Analyst

Carlos Castillo Peraza, 53, a political analyst and former president of Mexico’s National Action Party. Castillo, known for his acerbic wit, which sometimes got him into trouble--especially when he was running for office--was a member of the International Movement of Intellectual Catholics. He served twice as a deputy in Mexico’s lower house of Congress--first in 1979-82, then in 1988-91. He ran for mayor of Mexico City in 1997, losing to Cuauhtemoc Cardenas of the Democratic Revolution Party. In addition to serving as a political advisor to the National Action Party, Castillo taught political philosophy at La Salle University in Mexico City and wrote for several Mexican newspapers. He was born in Merida, Mexico, and earned a philosophy and literature degree from Mexico’s National Autonomous University. He attended graduate school at the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, specializing in political philosophy. President-elect Vicente Fox, a member of the National Action Party, described Castillo as “a great companion from whom I learned a lot.” On Saturday of a heart attack during a business trip to Bonn, Germany.