Mexico President-elect Peņa Nieto's win is weaker than expected
Mexico President-elect Peña Nieto's win is weaker than expected
A landslide failed to materialize and now Enrique Peña Nieto will have to negotiate with two opposition parties to push through his ambitious program.
By Tracy Wilkinson and Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times
July 2, 2012, 7:14 p.m.
MEXICO CITY — Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party is marching back into the presidential palace bolstered by its control of a raft of state governorships and a good standing in Congress.
But its mandate is much shakier than the party had predicted before Sunday's election, reflecting the nagging suspicions with which many Mexicans regard the PRI and complicating President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto's ability to execute an ambitious reform program.
He will have to negotiate with rival parties, including a newly empowered left, and will not have the free hand he might have expected as he pursues initiatives such as opening up the massive state oil company, Pemex, to foreign investment. Resistance from the opposition, as well as the old guard of his party and the unions that backed him, could block reforms and condemn Mexico to status quo and economic malaise.
"His mandate is clearly weaker than expected," said Carlos Ramirez, a Mexico analyst for the New York-based Eurasia Group.
"He will be in a tough spot. The view inside the party was that they were going to win by a landslide.... Peña will have to choose his battles because he's likely to encounter resistance from within his coalition."
More:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-mexico-election-analysis-20120703,0,5004898.story
