Mexico’s president-elect Enrique Peña Nieto is seeking to change the global perception of his country. After his meeting with President Barack Obama this week, one agenda item is coming to light: Mexico wants to shift the international focus from cartel decapitations to economic growth and potential. From The New York Times:

Mr. Peña Nieto, who visits Canada on Wednesday, has made it clear that Mexico’s poor image abroad has slowed its growth. His team plans a strong push to “modernize” trade deals, speed up or add new crossings at the border for commerce, court foreign investment to take advantage of vast, newly discovered shale gas fields near the United States border and generate more quality jobs like the ones here in Querétaro.

The Mexican economy is going gangbusters. According to research economists, this decade Mexico could transform into a “jaguar” economy, surpassing Brazil as the largest in Latin America. And, for now, at least according to some accounts, cartel violence is slowing down. The Economist:

via Can Peña Nieto Change The Western Perception Of Mexico? | Fronteras Desk.