New York - Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto described his country's vigorous reforms in a polished but all-too-scripted manner at a Council on Foreign Relations luncheon yesterday. There can be little doubt that he is determined to implement and integrate many deep and desperately needed structural reforms across virtually every major economic and legal domain such as banking and energy.The real question is whether his laudable ambitions are too vast and even remotely achievable.
Peña Nieto is certainly an ambitious guy. As Governor of the State of Mexico, he advanced to his constituents a mind-boggling platform of "608 Promises" in 2005. Only 150 or so initiatives were reportedly completed under his watch. Critics in the rival PAN Party say that the number is actually closer to 50. A question for leaders in this context is whether one is better off launching a high volume of high energy into the atmosphere to see what sticks, coheres and connects? Or, alternatively, does one lose credibility in suggesting such impossibilities and remain better served with more conservative, realizable initiatives? This conundrum is at the core of Peña Nieto's vast challenges as well as his personal reputation. For example, his claim to have cut the murder rate in his state by 50 percent during his gubernatorial tenure had to be retracted after The Economist proved it was untrue.
The meeting was hosted by Robert Rubin who expressed both admiration for Peña Nieto’s reach as well as understandable skepticism about his ultimate grasp. He asked the President whether Mexico’s meager economic growth rates since the reforms were initiated can possibly provide “enough confidence to spur future growth.” Peña Nieto seemed to understand that last year’s 1.4 percent growth rate will hardly do the trick so, as these leaders are often want to do, he promised much higher growth rates in the future. We won’t hold our breath but, in general, one has to admire Peña Nieto’s ambition, which the U.S. needs to support in no uncertain terms.
Twitter @jessicamcwade
Photo courtesy of The Dallas News
The meeting was hosted by Robert Rubin who expressed both admiration for Peña Nieto’s reach as well as understandable skepticism about his ultimate grasp. He asked the President whether Mexico’s meager economic growth rates since the reforms were initiated can possibly provide “enough confidence to spur future growth.” Peña Nieto seemed to understand that last year’s 1.4 percent growth rate will hardly do the trick so, as these leaders are often want to do, he promised much higher growth rates in the future. We won’t hold our breath but, in general, one has to admire Peña Nieto’s ambition, which the U.S. needs to support in no uncertain terms.
Twitter @jessicamcwade
Photo courtesy of The Dallas News