Mexico City -- There are many similarities between the first ladies of Mexico and the United States. Both Michelle Obama and Margarita Zavala de Calderon are attorneys, they both are in their 40s, both are mothers of young children, both worked behind the scenes in their respective husband's presidential campaign and they both are passionate about the social issues they promote.

After sitting down with each of them for a one-on-one interview, I can see that they also represent a new brand of first ladies, if you will: articulate, strong women of both style and substance.

Traveling with the foreign press corps, I witnessed just how much Mrs. Obama has become a fashion icon. Discussions of what she was wearing and who designed it dominated the behind-the-scenes conversations before getting to the core of her visit. While Mrs. Calderon has a more modest approach to fashion, her simplicity, charisma and authenticity make her affable and approachable. And if Mexicans haven't seen that side of her, they should look closer.

It is not uncommon for first ladies to focus on social issues in their role as the wife of a head of state; many before them have done so. Perhaps what is unique about the approach of Mrs. Obama and Mrs. Calderon is the passion and the scope with which they address their specific concerns.

Margarita Zavala de Calderon has chosen to battle addictions, not only as a means of protecting youth from the effects of substance abuse, but also as a broader solution to the violence that is generated by drug wars and that in Mexico has taken more than 22,000 lives in the past four years. “The worst thing that a government can do is not confront its problems; but just as it is important to confront them from a law-enforcement point of view, we have to work it through as a society,” she says. As Mexico points to the U.S. as being partly responsible for the drug violence as a consumer nation, she doesn't deny that drug use also is a growing problem in Mexico, which is why she claims that fighting addiction -- and hence, the demand -- should be at the core of the solution on both sides of the border.

A former congresswoman herself, Zavala de Calderon put her political career aside to raise her family and support her husband's political aspirations. She doesn't feel it was a sacrifice: “I always perceived politics as a human body of work; it is not a matter of titles, but a matter of convictions to work for a common good and that possibility always exists.”

Aside from her campaign against obesity, Michelle Obama is focusing on encouraging leadership among young people. “Why are you so passionate about this issue?” I asked her.

“Because I think it is at the core of our success as a planet, quite frankly; the issues that we are confronting, whether it's extremism or climate change or economic stability, won't be solved in our lifetime -- we are going to be passing them to the next generation,” she responded. “We need to get young people in the mind-set that they have to prepare, and start thinking of themselves as leaders.”

In her address to thousands of students at the Ibero-American University, Mrs. Obama said we need to change the perception that only a privileged few can have access to higher education. Using the famous slogan “Si se puede” (“Yes we can”), she challenged the young people not to settle.

“There is so much that we have in common,” Mrs. Obama told me about the U.S. and Mexico. “One of the reasons why I feel so comfortable here is because Mexico does feel like home: our value and focus on family and our children, the work ethic here, the willingness and desire to sacrifice so that their kids have more,” she said. It seems the women married to the two men who run these countries also have found much in common, and much to work for with a united front.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www .mariaesalinas.com)

© 2010 by Maria Elena Salinas

Distributed by King Features Syndicate