A new synthetic route to 2,5-difluoroterephthalic acid (DFTA) was devised and from this several new series of polymers were prepared by polycondensation. This inaugural paper will cover polyesters while subsequent papers will report on keto polyethers, polyamides and other backbones derived from DFTA. DFTA was synthesized from 2,5-difluorotoluene, which was acylated and subsequently converted to the diacid by a several step oxidation process. Various polyesters were prepared by reacting it with numerous bisphenols and diols by solution condensation to give a series of difluoroterephthalate polyesters with viscosities ranging from 0.16 to 0.61 dl/g. Thermogravimetric analyses showed that the polyesters had thermal stabilities up to 480 degrees C in nitrogen; melting temperatures ranged from 127 to 318 degrees C.