Pena Nieto to Focus First on Clean Government Dave Graham and Miguel Gutierrez - Reuters
go to original September 1, 2012

A woman in a pig mask holds the Mexican flag during a protest outside Mexico's electoral court in Mexico City, August 30, 2012. (Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

MEXICO CITY - Enrique Pena Nieto cast himself as an economic reformer to win the Mexican presidency but, after facing accusations of vote-rigging, his immediate focus is likely to be tackling his party's reputation for corruption.

Pena Nieto is set to take office in December after the electoral tribunal on Thursday threw out a bid by leftist rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to annul the July 1 election.

Nevertheless, the vote-buying and money-laundering claims and a series of street protests tainted Pena Nieto's victory and likely will color early legislative efforts by his Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which fell short of a majority in Congress and will need opposition support to pass laws.

The telegenic Pena Nieto, 46, is likely to bide his time on promoting tricky economic reforms until he is firmly installed, focusing first on showing a commitment to clean government and seeing next year's budget through Congress.

The job of ringing the bell for economic change in the new Congress, which begins on Saturday, is likely to fall first to outgoing President Felipe Calderon, who officials say will throw his weight behind a new drive to overhaul antiquated labor laws.

Calderon's past efforts to win congressional backing for economic reforms were blocked by the PRI for tactical reasons in opposition but since the party won the presidency campaigning in favor of very similar measures, labor reform has a fair chance of approval before Pena Nieto takes office on Dec. 1.

Mindful that tough economic reforms will face opposition and that it does not have a majority, the PRI has signaled it will first seek deals on measures to reduce corruption, boost governmental transparency and oversee ties between the media and elected officials.

“These three reforms will be a priority for us,” Manuel Anorve, a senior incoming PRI congressman told Reuters.

Establishing stronger curbs against abuses of political power and imposing tighter controls on election advertising are at the heart of the proposed measures.

Although the electoral court ruled Lopez Obrador had failed to prove that Pena Nieto's centrist PRI broke the law, critics say the election campaign at the very least showed there is still not a level playing field, and that the winner was helped by a cozy relationship with Mexico's top broadcaster, Televisa.

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