Author: Staff

Mexico’s new president, Enrique Pena Nieto, took office on Saturday, promising a balanced budget, bold education reform, a more productive energy sector and vigorous security policies. How he manages this ambitious agenda during his six-year term will impact Mexico’s future and its partnership with the United States.Mr. Pena Nieto takes the reins of government from Felipe Calderon, who managed one of the most difficult periods in Mexico’s contemporary history. During Mr. Calderon’s administration, the country suffered a serious polarization after his razor-thin victory over a leftist firebrand. Rampant narco-violence also prompted the government to implement a strategy to confront the impunity and carnage, which was threatening the country’s governance. The effects of the 2008 financial crisis also hit Mexico, smothering steady economic growth. As if these challenges were not enough, Mexico was the epicenter of the H1N1 virus pandemic, which killed thousands of people and halted economic activity in the country for several weeks in the spring of 2009.via NORIEGA: Challenges facing Mexico’s new president – Washington...