It has been said that Cárdenas was the only president associated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who did not use the office to make himself wealthy. He retired to a modest home by Lake Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, and worked the rest of his life supervising irrigation projects and promoting free medical clinics and education for the nation's poor. He also continued to speak out about international political issues and in favor of greater democracy and human rights in Latin America and elsewhere. For example, he was one of the participants in the Russell Tribunal for investigating war crimes in Vietnam. Although Cárdenas did not play the role that Calles had as the power behind the presidency, Cárdenas did exert influence on the PRI and in Mexican politics. He opposed the candidacy of Miguel Alemán Valdés for president in 1952, opposed the Vietnam War, and opposed the U.S. policy toward Cuba after the 1959 Cuban Revolution.