President Pena Nieto to Press Reform Agenda With Shifting Alliances Juan Montes - WSJ.com
go to original October 18, 2013

Raul Gomez, a deputy from the National Action Party (PAN), displays a placard during a legislative session on tax reform proposed by the Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto inside National Congress in Mexico City October 17, 2013. The placard reads, "Mexicans disapprove of your reform. It is regressive, repressive, and abusive. Enough of taxation". (Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

MEXICO CITY — President Enrique Peña Nieto spent much of his first year in office passing high-profile initiatives with the support of both major opposition parties. For the rest of his ambitious agenda, the president appears set to adopt a divide and conquer strategy.

The goal is to get three major bills passed by the end of the year, taking advantage of what many see as a unique window of opportunity after 15 years of political gridlock, during which time Mexico drifted while countries like China stole the emerging-market thunder.

All three parties last year signed a so-called Pact for Mexico, which covered a wide-ranging set of goals and paved the way for passage this year of initiatives on education and telecommunications.

But campaigning for the 2015 midterm elections in Mexico will get under way next year already, making it less likely that the parties will come together.

So Mr. Peña Nieto, who is allowed only one six-year term, will use the coming weeks to try to pass three major bills: a constitutional change to allow much greater private involvement in the energy sector, across-the-board tax increases to finance a social security program, and a political overhaul to improve Mexico's dysfunctional democracy.

Read the rest at WSJ.com

We invite you to add your charity or supporting organizations' news stories and coming events to PVAngels so we can share them with the world. Do it now!