The Guadalajara Reporter

Pledges, pledges, and more pledges

Since the start of their campaigns, presidential candidates Enrique Peña Nieto (PRI), Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (PRD) and Josefina Vazquez Mota (PAN) have all in one form or another vowed to eradicate poverty and corruption, create jobs, clean the environment, improve education and health and make the country safer.  So what new promises did they make this week?

Frontrunner Peña Nieto promised to provide a universal pension for all Mexicans aged over 65 if he becomes the next president. There are currently 7.5 million people over 65 in Mexico, but only three million of them receive any form of social security.

Lopez Obrador had already made universal pensions a campaign promise. He has also pledged to break up Mexico’s monopolies (Telmex, Televisa, etcetera) and support small and medium enterprises, as well as renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to benefit Mexican farmers.

Touring Jalisco last week as part of her bid to become Mexico’s first female president, Vazquez Mota called for “a new water culture,” promising to provide access to drinking water for everyone in Mexico.