Americans for Medicare in Mexico, A.C. (AMMAC) was founded and to date has been principally funded by Paul Crist.

The owner and manager of Hotel Mercurio in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Crist is a person with wide interests and broad experience. He holds degrees in Architecture and Political Science, and a Master's degree in International Economics. Prior to Puerto Vallarta, he lived for many years in Washington, DC, where he owned several businesses, including a residential design and construction firm specializing in historic preservation and restoration, and a retail garden center. He worked for a number of years as a Legislative Aide for Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD), and subsequently as an economist in private energy project consulting. "And I'm still wondering what I'll do when I grow up." Crist jokes.

As an economist, he traveled extensively and worked on large electric power projects in the U.S., Mexico, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. He first vacationed in Puerto Vallarta in 1992, and it became an annual visit thanks to its natural beauty and friendly sense of community. In 2002, almost on a whim, he purchased a 28-room hotel property there, left his consulting job, and moved to Puerto Vallarta.

It was also in 2002 that Paul met his life partner, Luis Tello, a Mexican citizen and lifelong resident of Puerto Vallarta. The couple was legally married on Cape Cod in Massachusetts in 2007, with both Paul's and Luis' families present.

Paul has been involved in the fight to confront the AIDS epidemic since the late 1980's. He was partnered at that time with an HIV physician, since deceased, who worked as Medical Director of a large Washington HIV clinic. He became a major fundraiser for the clinic, and served on its board of directors in the 1990's.

The illness and subsequent death of a valued employee at his hotel alerted Paul to the problem of HIV in Puerto Vallarta. He began supporting the local fight against HIV in memory of both his former partner, who passed away from a heart attack in 2001, and his employee at the hotel, who died from complications from AIDS in 2004.

In 2007, Paul and a small group of Mexican activists founded Vallarta Enfrenta el SIDA, A.C. (VES) (Vallarta Confronts AIDS, in English). VES is a partner with the local HIV clinic, a pilot project including VES, AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Los Angeles, the Jalisco state government, and the Mexican federal government. By contract, VES provides funding assistance for medical care, and pays salaries for the clinic's HIV counseling staff. VES also has an active outreach, education, and free HIV testing program that focuses on marginal and vulnerable communities in the region, operated by paid staff and volunteers. The organization is funded via donations and fundraising events, as well as grants from government and private sources. Crist continues to be a major donor.

Crist has had a lifelong interest in politics and public policy. Republican in his younger years and despite a conservative economics program taught at Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies where he received his Master's degree, his views have shifted to the left over the years, as he has seen the failings of classical economic theories in practice.

Crist explains, "The economic principles taught to economics students are correct and useful as far as they go, but societies have other objectives and needs than aggregate economic growth and low inflation. Economic growth isn't of much use if it only enriches a small segment of society that's already rich. And there are certain economic sectors, health care being one, the so-called "labor market" being another, where markets really don't work very well at all. I reject the claim that we have "choice" in the free market, loosely regulated health insurance industry in the US, for example. We have the choice to buy medical coverage that is decided by our employers and varies minimally among insurers in the business of putting a price tag on the value of human life."

"For capitalism to work for the benefit of all, we need to accept that planning and regulation are not dirty words that are necessarily associated with communism or socialism; that for those to whom much is given, much should be expected (including progressive tax policies that adequately fund our society's objectives and that provide opportunity for those with the least); and we need to discard the notion that "freedom" means the freedom to shop for an endless array things to buy at cheap prices that neither reflect the externalities of production nor provide the makers with a decent wage. Freedom is something else entirely."

Crist became active in Democratic politics in the late 1980's, and volunteered in both of the (Bill) Clinton campaigns. He was also a major fundraiser for All Gore in 2000. He was first a volunteer, then a paid staff member for Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) in the early 1990's.

When the Democrats Abroad (the international arm of the Democratic Party) formed a local chapter in Puerto Vallarta, Paul jumped in. He currently serves on the local Executive Committee, as Media Chair of the Mexico Democrats Abroad - Costa Banderas Chapter; is the Editor of the Democrats Abroad Mexico Newsletter/Journal; and in 2009, he was elected to serve as Treasurer for the Democrats Abroad Mexico Country Executive Committee. Democrats Abroad facilitates voting and political participation for Americans living outside the U.S., and lobbies issues of interest to expatriates.

Paul's interest in the issue of Medicare for eligible seniors living in Mexico began only recently. As part of the Democrats Abroad Mexico Annual General Meeting, held in Puerto Vallarta in March, Paul and the local committee organized a series of conferences on topics of interest to the membership. The conference on Medicare and healthcare issues turned out to be the highlight of the weekend, drawing a large crowd. Crist moderated the conference, which featured a panel of invited health policy experts, an economist from the Mexican Ministry of Finance, and the director of a major progressive lobbying organization in Washington, DC. The lack of access to Medicare services for seniors in Mexico essentially became the sole focus of the conference, which included an extended period of audience interaction.

As with previous issues where Paul saw a need, he jumped in and began studying and researching the issue. He made trips to DC to seek input from health policy professionals and Congressional staffers specializing in health care and Medicare. He studied the legislation relevant to the topic. He consulted private sector health administrators. His experience with politics and campaigns, as well as in private business, inform his strategic approach to the current effort to win Congressional authorization for Medicare in Mexico. "First you do your homework, to make sure what you want to accomplish is reasonable and possible. If it is, then you find the money and resources to get the job done. Next you deploy those resources to mobilize support and put a management structure in place that will ensure success."

An avid writer and researcher on economic, public policy and healthcare issues, his articles in both Spanish and English are frequently published in Puerto Vallarta and various U.S. newspaper editorial pages.

Paul travels frequently both nationally and internationally. He maintains homes in Washington, DC and Puerto Vallarta. He is fluent in Spanish.