Enrique Peña Nieto | |
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Official portrait of President Peña Nieto
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57th President of Mexico |
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Assumed office 1 December 2012 |
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Preceded by | Felipe Calderón |
Governor of the State of Mexico | |
In office 16 September 2005 – 16 September 2011 |
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Preceded by | Arturo Montiel Rojas |
Succeeded by | Eruviel Ávila Villegas |
Personal details | |
Born |
Atlacomulco, Mexico |
20 July 1966
Political party | Institutional Revolutionary |
Spouse(s) |
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Children | 4 |
Residence | Los Pinos |
Alma mater | Panamerican University |
Signature |
Presidential styles of Enrique Peña Nieto |
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Reference style |
Señor Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos "Mr. President of the United Mexican States" |
Spoken style |
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Alternative style |
Señor Presidente "Mr. President" |
Enrique Peña Nieto, (Spanish pronunciation: [enˈrike ˈpeɲja ˈnjeto]; born 20 July 1966) is a Mexican politician who serves as the 57th and current President of Mexico. Educated as a lawyer, Peña Nieto had served as Secretary of Administration for the State of Mexico from 2000-2002, as Representative of the 13th District of the State of Mexico from 2003-2004, and as Governor of the state from 2005-2011 prior to becoming President.
He was elected President on July 1, 2012, winning 39% of the vote and returning the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to power after a twelve-year hiatus. The PRI had governed Mexico uninterrupted for 71 years until it was defeated by the National Action Party (PAN) in 2000. Peña Nieto took office on December 1, 2012, succeeding Felipe Calderón. Protests against the election of Peña Nieto drew tens of thousands of people across Mexico, particularly from the #YoSoy132 student movement, who protested alleged voting irregularities and media bias.
Peña Nieto began his term as President with an approval rating of approximately 50%, but the falling value of the Mexican Peso and sluggish economic growth had caused this figure to drop to 35% by 2015. Prone to gaffes, Nieto has also faced several major controversies as President, including the escape of famed drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman from Altiplano prison in 2015, and accusations that he had plagiarized his law school thesis. He has also faced criticism for his handling of the abduction and murder of 43 teachers' college students in the State of Guerrero in 2014. Another crisis emerged on January 1, 2017, due to a 20% increase in gasoline prices it became known as Gasolinazo 2017. According to the Newspaper Reforma, by August 2016, Peña Nieto's approval ratings had dropped to 23% - the lowest for any president since the paper began opinion polling in 1995. The approval decreased more by January 19, 2017, remaining at 12%.