Enrique Peña Nieto, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) nominee for president of Mexico and the man most likely to be elected on July 1, engaged in a bit of preemptive damage control recently. During an interview with Mexico City's influential El Universal, he fairly rolled around in the mud, tattling on himself enough to satisfy even the tabloids.
Peña Nieto's first marriage was to the late Mónica Pretelini Sáenz, with whom he had three children. Pretelini died suddenly on Jan. 11, 2007, during what is officially listed as an epileptic episode. There are rumors . . . but no, I'm not going there, at least not now.
The candidate told El Universal that during the marriage, which had "highs and lows" (hard to believe, isn't it?), he had affairs with two women, both of whom bore him children. Either Peña Nieto is a good Catholic, or he needs to enroll in Fundamentals of Birth Control.
One of the out-of-wedlock children died from a congenital illness at about a year of age (just three weeks after Pretelini Sáenz). The other is seven, and lives with his mother. Peña Nieto claims that he helps support the child, but admits that he has had very little contact with him.
Meanwhile, the intrepid PRIsta got busy and found himself otra mujer (another woman) - the soap opera star Angélica Rivera - whom he married Nov. 27, 2010, in a splashy Mexican City wedding attended by the Rich and Famous. A Roman Catholic service presented no problem for Peña Nieto, since he was a widower. As for Ms. Rivera, she managed to procure a church annulment from her first husband of five years, with whom she had produced three children. That paved the way for a nice liturgical ceremony.
If you're keeping track, the candidate and his present wife have produced a combined eight children, involving four different women. Flow chart it for clarity if you're confused.
Peña Nieto denied "any responsibility" for the death of first wife Pretelini, and said that "medical reports" would back him up. He also claims she knew all about the two affairs, which actually "brought them closer together." Of course it did, Enrique, of course it did.
Despite his past, the PRI candidate says that he has turned over a new leaf, and is now "devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus." That should give us all a great degree of comfort if and when Peña Nieto assumes Mexico's highest office later this year.
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The sad part is many Mexicans will probably will vote for this air-head.
ReplyDeletebut is it just his spotty personal life the protests are about or is it something else?
ReplyDeletePeople seem to either adore or detest Enrique Peña Nieto. There's not much in between. In the case of those who don't like him, it's heavily about his party, PRI, which ruled Mexico for 70 years. You'll find many dozens of articles in MGRR about PRI, and all contain links to others. Here's a recent one: http://mexicogulfreporter.blogspot.mx/2012/06/pena-nieto-linked-to-organized-crime.html#more
ReplyDeleteOnly my personal opinion, of course, but Peña Nieto just doesn't come across as the sharpest tool in the shed. I agree that it's about his party. I don't see him as having the power and presence to be an effective leader, and I don't trust the people in the party who would be pulling his strings.
ReplyDeleteYour last statement -- "I don't trust the people in the party who would be pulling his strings" -- is very interesting to me. Although I've never written that, it happens to represent exactly the way I see things.
ReplyDeleteI think EPN wants to be president for much the same reasons anybody in any country wants to be president. As the humorous saying goes, "it's good to be the King." But beyond holding the title and the office, I don't really believe he has much interest in the presidency. I think Peña Nieto would largely be a "caretaker" executive for 72 months, and others within PRI would actually run the show. For all his dashing "GQ" appearance, I see EPN as a man who is not very strong or sure of himself when he's off camera.
Behind the facade is moderate interest at best, coupled with uncertainty. Remember, this is the man who supposedly told U.S. authorities in Nov. 2011, "I'll do whatever you tell me to do" (see my post just below on "NY Times got it wrong . . .").
All that being said, an article in our local press today (actually, a Spanish reprint of a New York Times article this week) claims that none of the attacks against Peña Nieto have accomplished anything. The article says that he has successfully portrayed himself as a "winner," with the subliminal message that "Mexico can be a winner, too" if it votes for PRI.
He charms women and makes men envious of his sexual prowess. With those qualifications, it's no wonder he was elected president. If the guy on these You Tube videos can be believed, there is yet another side to Peña Nieto that hasn't been very well publicized as well as a commentary on the justice system and journalism.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYTQs17qn7s&feature=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez8rmhV8goc&feature=relmfu
On several occasions I saw women supporters of EPN carrying signs at campaign events which said, "Te quiero - estar en mi cama."
ReplyDeleteWho knows, though, if Mexico's new president really has "sexual prowess." Maybe he's a complete dud. A book published a few months ago said he "takes his women to heaven, but leaves them in hell." Maybe lack of prowess was the hell the author had in mind.
I expect that over the next six years, we'll learn a lot more about his private life, including the death of his first wife. The Mexican public is often attracted to such stories, whether they're fact, fiction or some combination of both.
What does this guy's good Catholic church say about his reform, following affairs and 8 children from 4 women? The rich continue to control Mexico and get away with it. I believe that the well-off in Mexico only care about themselves in a blind way that keeps them from seeing what a better country and society they would have if they got rid of, or condemned, corruption at all levels, and organizations.
ReplyDelete