ABSTRACT

Calling this chapter ‘looking in vain for exits’ from misplaced economies probably missed the more fundamental point that looking for such exits was tainted even before these governments started actions to try to reverse the condition. Since 2005–06, most public opinion surveys in Mexico have shown remarkable consistency in the ranking of citizens' main concerns: insecurity/violence, and lack of economic opportunity/dynamism have been the top two. Felipe Calderon Hinojosa faced an increasingly popular left-wing candidate, the former mayor of Mexico City, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, proposed by the Partido de la Revolucion Democratica (PRD). The Partido Accion Nacional (PAN) and Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) leaderships and new congressional deputies were concerned about a head-on collision. Barriers to entry at the state level of the political sphere during Enrique Pena Nieto's administration remained relatively low, compared with the years of hegemonic PRI rule. Mexico under Pena Nieto continued to champion the open, pro-market international framework represented by Washington consensus policies.