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Mexico needs tough love from the US, not just hope for change Mexico needs tough love from the US, not just hope for change
(5 months later)
President Obama's recent visit to Mexico aimed to deepen the already intimate commercial and cultural ties between Mexico and the US, marking the occasion as a rare de-emphasis of security concerns in the bilateral dialogue.

By shifting the conversation from drugs and organized crime to clean energy and higher education, President Obama was not only playing to US audiences, who will soon weigh immigration reform and increased regional integration, but also validated a newly-elected Mexican president and the political narrative set by his administration.

Since coming into power last December – after a scandal-ridden election – President Enrique Peña Nieto has sought to corral Mexico's main political forces into passing a series of structural reforms and has wielded the government's impressive communications apparatus to instill a sense of optimism around his administration.

Gone are the days when the Mexican government used its national airtime to tout the apprehension of grim-looking criminals and sell the public on the questionable victories over organized crime. Government communications in the Peña Nieto era have taken a more hopeful tone, imploring citizens and youth to take part in a changing country and participate in glossy public initiatives, which emulate philanthropic projects, like Mexico's national telethon (known simply as el teletón) and the #kony2012 campaign.

Missing in this sunny narrative is the validation of the Peña Nieto government by its most important ally, the United States. International monitors continue to highlight Mexico's unabated human rights violations, limits on the press, and high homicide rate, while the foreign business press gives its cautious, yet steady, approval of Peña Nieto's work.

In this context, the President Obama's forward-looking speech to the Mexican public could not have been more welcomed by the Peña Nieto administration. As Obama remarked:		President Obama's recent visit to Mexico aimed to deepen the already intimate commercial and cultural ties between Mexico and the US, marking the occasion as a rare de-emphasis of security concerns in the bilateral dialogue.

By shifting the conversation from drugs and organized crime to clean energy and higher education, President Obama was not only playing to US audiences, who will soon weigh immigration reform and increased regional integration, but also validated a newly-elected Mexican president and the political narrative set by his administration.

Since coming into power last December – after a scandal-ridden election – President Enrique Peña Nieto has sought to corral Mexico's main political forces into passing a series of structural reforms and has wielded the government's impressive communications apparatus to instill a sense of optimism around his administration.

Gone are the days when the Mexican government used its national airtime to tout the apprehension of grim-looking criminals and sell the public on the questionable victories over organized crime. Government communications in the Peña Nieto era have taken a more hopeful tone, imploring citizens and youth to take part in a changing country and participate in glossy public initiatives, which emulate philanthropic projects, like Mexico's national telethon (known simply as el teletón) and the #kony2012 campaign.

Missing in this sunny narrative is the validation of the Peña Nieto government by its most important ally, the United States. International monitors continue to highlight Mexico's unabated human rights violations, limits on the press, and high homicide rate, while the foreign business press gives its cautious, yet steady, approval of Peña Nieto's work.

In this context, the President Obama's forward-looking speech to the Mexican public could not have been more welcomed by the Peña Nieto administration. As Obama remarked:
"The young people of Mexico, you honor your heritage, thousands of years old, but you're also part of something new, a nation that's in the process of remaking itself … I've come to Mexico because I think it's time for us to put the old mindsets aside, it's time to recognize new realities, including the impressive progress of today's Mexico.""The young people of Mexico, you honor your heritage, thousands of years old, but you're also part of something new, a nation that's in the process of remaking itself … I've come to Mexico because I think it's time for us to put the old mindsets aside, it's time to recognize new realities, including the impressive progress of today's Mexico."
And yet this refashioned Mexico continues to show the same dysfunctions of its very recent past. Take Peña Nieto's truce with opposition parties, the Pacto Por Mexico (Pact for Mexico), for instance. The pact, responsible for the president's successes in passing major structural reforms, has recently come into danger of unraveling, after reports of a vast vote-purchasing scheme, which was allegedly orchestrated by Peña Nieto's party and other officials during recent elections in the state of Veracruz.And yet this refashioned Mexico continues to show the same dysfunctions of its very recent past. Take Peña Nieto's truce with opposition parties, the Pacto Por Mexico (Pact for Mexico), for instance. The pact, responsible for the president's successes in passing major structural reforms, has recently come into danger of unraveling, after reports of a vast vote-purchasing scheme, which was allegedly orchestrated by Peña Nieto's party and other officials during recent elections in the state of Veracruz.
Hallmarks of Mexico's apparent corruption can also be found in the lauded overhaul of Mexico's educational system, which only passed after the sudden incarceration of the head of Mexico's teacher's union (a longtime bulwark against educational reform and no stranger to controversy herself).Hallmarks of Mexico's apparent corruption can also be found in the lauded overhaul of Mexico's educational system, which only passed after the sudden incarceration of the head of Mexico's teacher's union (a longtime bulwark against educational reform and no stranger to controversy herself).
The government's campaign against hunger has also raised eyebrows, for both its gamified approach to poverty (you can "like" sponsor's products on Facebook and a kilogram of dehydrated milk will be donated to a family in need) and the participation of PepsiCo and Nestle in development of low-cost nutritional supplements for Mexico's 7.4 million citizens living in extreme poverty.

While President Obama's effort to move the conversation beyond border security and organized crime is important for the long-term, the visit failed to address Mexico's difficult relationship with transparent governance and representative democracy. As the US seeks to reshape its relationship with its southern neighbor, it would do well to keep a close watch on the new administration's muddled positions on public safety.		The government's campaign against hunger has also raised eyebrows, for both its gamified approach to poverty (you can "like" sponsor's products on Facebook and a kilogram of dehydrated milk will be donated to a family in need) and the participation of PepsiCo and Nestle in development of low-cost nutritional supplements for Mexico's 7.4 million citizens living in extreme poverty.

While President Obama's effort to move the conversation beyond border security and organized crime is important for the long-term, the visit failed to address Mexico's difficult relationship with transparent governance and representative democracy. As the US seeks to reshape its relationship with its southern neighbor, it would do well to keep a close watch on the new administration's muddled positions on public safety.
The US should not just talk about the future – it should reinforce the democratic principles that will truly drive Mexico's change today.The US should not just talk about the future – it should reinforce the democratic principles that will truly drive Mexico's change today.
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