Mexican Politicians and Infidelity Tim Johnson - McClatchy Newspapers
go to original June 8, 2012

Mexican politicians do not need to be faithful husbands and good family men.

That point was reiterated this week with a billboard in central Mexico City that shows the image of Enrique Pena Nieto, the frontrunner to become Mexico’s next president.

The billboard is for ashleymadison.com, a firm that helps men keep their love affairs secret from their wives. Click on the company’s website and the slogan that flashes at you in Spanish is: "Life is Short. Have an Affair."

Pena Nieto, in the doctored billboard photo, has lipstick on his collar. The billboard says, “Unfaithful to his family. Faithful and committed to his country.”

Pena Nieto has acknowledged that he fathered two children out of wedlock by different women while married to his first wife.

But this means nothing in Mexico. This didn’t even merit a reaction from the campaign headquarters of Pena Nieto’s party, the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

I asked a pollster this morning about Pena Nieto’s out-of-wedlock children and whether it might have any impact on the electorate. (In fact, it’s not a new issue.)

Marcelo Ortega of Consulta Mitofsky was emphatic in his response: “For the Mexican voter, infidelity is not an issue.”

The French, who think the Americans hold priggish interest in the personal lives of politicians, would be proud of the Mexicans. As this article notes, "How many senior male French politicians aren't either a groper, a cheater, a charmer or a serial seducer?"

Tim Johnson is the Mexico bureau chief for McClatchy Newspapers.

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