Constitutionally barred from running for the Mexican presidency by a provision then in force which excluded those with a foreign-born parent from holding the office. His father, Jorge Hank Weber, was German and a colonel in both the German and Mexican armies. However, Carlos Hank had great influence in the PRI party, culminating in the late 1980s and early 1990s during the presidency of Carlos Salinas de Gortari. Other evidence of his wide-ranging connections came in the form of his birthday celebration every year on August 28, when "The professor" would have a grand party at his ranch called "Don Catarino" in Santiago Tianguistenco with thousands of invited guests.