Columns Columns Allyn Hunt Enrique Peña Nieto’s proposals appear both illuminating and questionable. Without a majority in Congress, he may face problems
Enrique Peña Nieto’s proposals appear both illuminating and questionable. Without a majority in Congress, he may face problems
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- Published on Friday, 11 January 2013 12:49
- Written by Allyn Hunt
A number of professional international and political analysts have examined Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) President Enrique Peña Nieto’s proposed new policies and found some illuminating but others unpromising. Their assessments are not couched in the sharp rhetoric that many (both Mexicans and those abroad) believe the new administration’s campaign-tainted maneuvering merits.
The foundation of many of these observations issue from:
1) Peña Nieto’s governorship of the large, wealthy State of Mexico which cups Mexico City –a soiled term in office, now newly confirmed (see “The Bribery Aisle,” New York Times, December 17, regarding the crude and predatory corruption exercised by Walmart). And 2) his presidential campaign, which appeared to many political observers almost childishly corrupt and, say many citizens, mirrors the PRI’s previous 71 years of venal and brutal rule (1929-2000).
Yet, simultaneously, a seemingly greater number of Mexicans whose votes were not purchased, muted any unease they harbored, hoping for the best as some prepared for something less. The mainstream media here appears to be of this persuasion also, note a number of journalistic assessors.
However all that may be, today the presidency of Mexico requires that a newly elected president, at least, not make obviously incredible claims on matters of record. Peña Nieto made several claims that the media quickly forced him to recant. The first that caught public attention occurred when he brazenly claimed a miraculous steep drop in the crime rate of Mexico State under his administration. In the rest of the nation, crime numbers were climbing. Mexico State’s change in the way comparative crime rates were tallied accounted for Peña Nieto’s slip-up as he unofficially kicked-off his presidential campaign September 5, 2011. But while retracting his claim, he explained, without being specific, that crime in Mexico would drop if he were elected. Yet more such “errors” were already being drafted.