Enrique Peña Nieto is a political figure who is currently serving as the President of Mexico. Previously, he was the Governor of the State of Mexico. Neighboring newly sworn President Donald Trump and Nieto do not have a good rapport because of numerous Trump’s rhetoric against Mexico.
Early Life and Education
Enrique Peña Nieto was born in Atracomulco, Mexico on 20 July 1966. He was raised by an electrical engineer father and a school teacher mother. He grew up with his siblings and went to Denis Hall School for formal English learning sessions. After completing high school in Toluca, Nieto joined Panamerican University to do a BA in law. Later, he did an MBA from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education.
Living under numerous political contacts, Nieto quickly generated an immense interest in politics. By the age of 15, he was even delivering campaign literature.
Personal Life
Now 50 years old, President Nieto is already married two times. He tied the knot with his first wife, Monica Pretelini, in 1993. The couple lived together for almost 14 years and broke up. They gave birth to three children: Paulina, Alejandro and Nicole. Reportedly, Nieto also had two illegitimate children with his mistresses.
After moving apart from Monica’s life, President Nieto started dating Angelica Rivera. The couple got married in 2011. While Nieto says that the marriage was the result of love, critics and oppositions argue that it was just a publicity stunt arranged to help with the imminent elections.
Career
While at Panamerican University, the 18-year-old law student got a membership of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. As he graduated from the law school, he started working for a public notary and then at the San Luis Industrial Corporation. Gradually, he completely ventured into the world of Mexican politics. Nieto first acquired the post of the Secretary of the Citizen Movement of Zone I. Then, he served as a chief of staff and a personal secretary for Montiel Rojas. Consequently, he finally rose to the seat of deputy in Atlacomulco.
Like every hierarchical political system works, Enrique’s rise started from the very bottom level in the Institutional Revolutionary Party. Primarily serving as an administrative secretary, a President of the Directive Council of Social Security and a vice-president of the National System for Integral Family Development, Nieto landed the prominent position of State Deputy in 2003. He served the office for two years.
After making it to the State Deputy, Nieto’s hierarchy skyrocketed. Interestingly, in 2005, he was sworn in as the Governor of the State of Mexico. The Nieto governorship was productive and progressive for the Mexican economy. Within a year of appointment into the office, he had already formulated 141 projects. Then came the 608 projects proposal. Tirelessly, Nieto worked for infrastructural development, including building health services, public transportation, and water supplies. This ‘608 projects’ worked unbelievably, mainly in the health sector. By 2011, respiratory diseases decreased by 55% and death tolls resulting from dysentery and cervical cancer reduced by 65% and 25% respectively.
As every leader has dark sides in his career, Nieto was also captured badly in the women abuse scandal. He was held responsible for increased military women abuse because he was the ultimate person who could have passed a pardon. Anyway, Nieto was a one of people’s favorite in 2012 presidential election. Having been a PRI nominee, he raised voice to create jobs, maintain economic equality and seek transparency. Alongside massive support from the Mexican crowd, Nieto received a significant coverage from various television networks.
On 1 July 2012, PRI won the elections securing 38% votes in favor of its presidential candidate, Enrique Pena Nieto. He took the office on 1 December 2012. Following the heat in 2016 US Presidential Election, a Mexican hacker claimed to have been paid large amounts by PRI to hack into opposition leader’s strategies. However, as the time passed by, Nieto’s leadership has helped PRI to erase its corrupted history.
As the current President of Mexico, Enrique has helped Mexico expand in the sector of auto manufacturing. Proposing a $10-billion government spending in the same sector, Nieto attracted a $1-billion investment from Kia and $1.4-billion expenditure from Mercedes-Benz. Likewise, since the start of Nieto’s leadership, the job market has increased by more than 2 million. Alongside this massive increase, women participation in paid jobs has also increased significantly. To develop the underdeveloped parts of the country, President Nieto created economic zones with an aim to industrialize those parts via tax incentives. He recognizes that a part of Mexico competes globally while the other part lags far behind in the international market.
Honours
- Order of the Liberator General San Martín, Grand Collar, awarded by Mauricio Macri on 29 July 2016
- Order of the Southern Cross, Grand Collar, awarded by Dilma Rousseff on 26 May 2015
- National Order of Juan Mora Fernández, Grand Cross with Gold Plaque, awarded by Laura Chinchilla on 19 February 2013
- Order of Prince Henry, Grand Collar, awarded by Cavaco Silva on 2 June 2014
- Order of Isabella the Catholic, Grand Cross with Collar, awarded by King Juan Carlos I of Spain on 6 June 2014
- Order of the Sun of Peru, Grand Collar, awarded by Ollanta Humala on 17 July 2014
- Order of the Bath, Knight Grand Cross, awarded by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom on 3 March 2015
- Order of Charles III, Grand Cross with Collar, awarded by King Felipe VI of Spain on 20 June 2015
- Order of the Elephant, Knight, awarded by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark on 13 April 2016[Source: Wikipedia]
Donald Trump and Enrique Nieto
US President Trump and Mexican President Nieto are arguably the two extreme points in today’s world politics. Since the start of 2016 Trump Presidential campaign, he has been humiliating Mexico by making numerous undiplomatic statements. He promised the Americans to build a wall on the southern border to keep Mexicans out from immigrating illegally. Likewise, he also accused Mexico of stealing jobs and simply trying to take an unfair advantage in trade. So, Trump has vowed that he’ll renegotiate the NAFTA deals. From Mexican side, President Nieto has no objection on building a wall, but he makes it clear to the American President that Mexico will, in no condition, pay for the wall.
Recently, the meeting was scheduled to take place between Trump and Nieto on January 26, 2017. However, the formal discussion was canceled after Trump wrote on Twitter that ‘it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting’ if Mexico won’t pay for the wall. As a response, Nieto quickly canceled the meeting and was even praised by many for doing so. This situation between the two of the largest exporting economies of the world puts the global economy at a huge risk. The future of US-Mexico ties is very uncertain.
