Enrique Peña Nieto, making the rounds in Washington, D.C. today, predicted that Mexico's Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) will win next year's presidential election. He also predicted that he'll be at the top of the ticket.
Peña Nieto's comments came shortly after a new PRD coalition announced that their candidate in 2012 will be Andrés Manuel López Obrador (see story below).
"I have full respect for the candidates chosen by other political parties," said Peña Nieto. When asked if he "feared competition" from the PRD candidate, who came within half a percentage point of beating Mexican president Felipe Calderón in 2006, Peña Nieto replied, "I'm quite certain that PRI is on the way to winning the election, and I fully expect to be its standard bearer. I'm ready to take on any other candidates."
The PRI hopeful said that he expects his party to form a coalition with two other groups, Partido Verde (the Green Party) and Nueva Alianza (the New Alliance) later this week. PRD has announced a coalition of its own for the 2012 elections.
Peña Nieto was asked specifically today if he supported the legalization of drugs, as former president Vicente Fox has repeatedly urged in recent weeks. His reply was an unequivocal no. However, yesterday Peña Nieto said that he disapproved of the Calderón administration's use of Mexico's armed forces in the now five year old drug war. He said that if elected, he will "return the military to their quarters" and rely instead on local police to fight the cartels (see story below).
Mexico's presidential election will be held on July 1, 2012.
Vicente Fox wants to legalize all drugs worldwide: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.com/2011/10/vicente-fox-urges-legalization-of-all.html.
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