President Enrique Peña Nieto
President Enrique Peña Nieto Reuters

A social media frenzy sparked up in Mexico as President Enrique Peña Nieto was interviewed in one of the most popular variety morning shows, “Hoy.” Hosts Andrea Legarreta and Raul Araiza said they did the interview because they had ‘too many questions’ about the energy reforms which are supposed to be designed to bring in billions of dollars in investment to the country's oil, gas and electricity sectors. The controversy of the mandatary’s appearance lies in the fact that the variety show’s main focus is celebrity gossip. Coincidentally, the interview comes right after the secondary laws for the energetic reform passed and a few days prior to his annual Presidential Report on September 1, as reported on Carmen Aristegui’s website.

The full interview will be shown in segments throughout the week. Apparently each segment will address different types of questions asked by the hosts so they can cover more grounds without confusing the audience. On today’s first part of the interview, President Peña Nieto said, “Let’s be very clear that the population will gradually start perceiving the benefits of these reforms. This will all be happening through time. What will occur? They will bring more investments which will generate more employment opportunities. It is expected that these reforms will generate better opportunities of employment that will therefore be better remunerated.”

Most of all, the controversy of this lengthy interview seems to be the lack of seriousness. Mexicans feel underestimated as their President goes on what appears to be a staged interview from the network which employed his wife, Angelica Rivera as an actress for over 18 years: Televisa. Adding to the lack of formality, the interviewers sound like they’re acting a scene from a Telenovela with too many bloopers in the horizon. Raul Araiza seems to be on the verge of hysterical laughter every time he speaks and Andrea Legarreta reacts in the cheesiest ways to the President’s learned-by-heart answers. “That sounds good, that sounds nice, it’s very motivating, really, and it’s moving to listen to you,” she said. I remember hearing much better dialogues on “El Vuelo del Aguila.” At least step up your acting guys!

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