Voters in Mexico recently selected Enrique Pena Nieto to be their country's newest president, thus reinstating his Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) which ruled Mexico for over 70 years before its loss to the National Action Party (PAN) in 2000.
Voters roundly rejected the PAN this election, largely because of concerns over security, and the war against the drug cartels that has claimed over 55,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon (PAN) initiated it in 2007. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) came in second in the polls; another disappointing result after he lost the closely contested 2006 presidential election.
At the same time, not all voters are convinced that bringing the PRI back into power is the right move for the country. Many young voters in particular did not support the return of a party that has a reputation for ruling with an authoritarian style. However, Nieto vows that he will not return to his party's past, and that he will honor the trust the Mexican people have granted him with this election.
Quotes
"Mexicans have given our party a second chance. We will honor it with results, with a new way of governing, accordingly to the demands of a 21st century Mexico. We are a new generation. We will not return to the past." -Enrique Pena Nieto, Mexican President-Elect.
Warm Up Questions
1.What is a political party?
2. What kind of government does Mexico have?
3.Who won the recent Mexican Election?
Discussion Questions
1.Why are some people suspicious of the return of the PRI?
2.What current events in Mexico are important to Mexican voters?
3.Do you think Pena Nieto will be different from PRI leaders of the past? Why or why not? Discuss.
Additional Resources
Mexican, U.S. Presidents Meet Over Drug Wars
Mexican President Speaks Out Against Immigration Law
