Propuestas de Enrique Peña Nieto para el pueblo mexicano
Enrique Peña Nieto REUTERS

Enrique Peña Nieto is a big World Cup fan - yesterday, the statesman himself called Miguel 'El Piojo' Herrera on El Tri's victory against Croatia. However, according to writer Francisco Goldman, Peña Nieto, and the Mexican government in general, may be using the World Cup to their own advantage. In an Op Ed in the New York Times, Goldman writes that critics have been "denouncing his ploy to hide the historic reforms behind World Cup fever."

Indeed, Mexico is pretty crazy about soccer and World Cup fever is widespread - even affecting politics. The Commission for Energy Legislation Reform last week approved a new change to its work schedule: the scheduled meeting for the afternoon was changed to be after the match between the Mexican national team and Cameroon in the World Cup in Brazil. However, as Goldman discusses, the greater danger is what is not being seen by the public from those very discussions.

"Mr. Peña Nieto," writes Francisco Goldman, "seems to regard the plight of his citizenry as a public relations stain that needs to be kept out of sight. Yet it was only a few months ago that Time magazine heralded him on its cover as the savior of Mexico. Outside the country, he was seen as a modernizing reformer and a committed partner in the war against the narco cartels." Despite this fact, Mexicans see him for what he is: as a puppet for the all-powerful PRI party.

There is much concern to be had, as the PRI sets a very disturbing precedent. As Goldman discusses, the privatization of telecommunications in the 1990s "created fortunes for a small elite and PRI cronies, but did little or nothing for ordinary Mexicans but saddle them with what is considered to be the world’s most expensive and unreliable cellphone service." Critics see a very similar thing happening with the privatization of Pemex, which stands to benefit few but the PRI and the Mexican elite.

The solution, if any can be offered, is to bring the Mexican government to accountability. This happened last month when new telecommunication reforms were brought to the senate: scholars and analysts eventually deciphered the legislation and saw that it would do little more than benefit Televisa and crack down on Internet freedom. The resulting protests and social media campaign, centered around the now infamous #EPNvsInternet, forced politicians to reconsider.

Thus, while Mexico's continued success in Brazil is a source of tremendous pride for the nation, we as Mexicans, both in Mexico and abroad, should not forget what is going on back home. Peña Nieto may be a puppet, but he is a cunning one. "Someday," says Goldman, "Mexico will get another chance to vote the PRI away and to restart the long process of building the country from the ground up." Until that day, Mexicans need to pay very close attention to the progress of legislation, as well as the triumphs of El Tri.

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