Latin America Center Director Peter Schechter and Deputy Director Jason Marczak cowrite for the Hill on energy reform in Mexico:
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto recently delivered his annual state of the nation address against a backdrop of profound achievements in pushing through his ambitious reform agenda. Peña Nieto’s poll numbers have dropped measurably and conventional wisdom in Mexico City and Monterrey says that political hard times are ahead for the government; but this president is a long-vision player. He has put his reputation and his party’s future on the line by bringing real change to his country.
Indeed, Mexico’s economy remains sluggish and the government is paying a political price for the lack of growth. As a result, the political air will get increasingly choppy and the midterm elections in July 2015 might prove difficult for the president’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). But by the time of the next presidential election in 2018, Peña Nieto should be harvesting the full potential of Mexico’s reform-driven prosperity. And this result could cement the PRI’s hold on power for decades.