Translated by Rebecca Nannery
In spite of all the selfies he takes, all the times he was photographed with Mexican soccer star ‘Chicharito’ during his official visit to Germany, all the meetings he has with different European Heads of State, each hospital that he opens and the more speeches he gives, making a great effort to mind his diction, the popularity of President Enrique Peña Nieto “fell by 9% in the last quarter, giving him only 30%” (Lorena Becerra and María Antonia Mancillas, Reforma, 13th April 2016). This means that 66% of citizens disapprove of the President.
The most serious of all, and just as the report by Grupo Reforma has revealed,
“this is a historically low level of support, not only on how his management is doing but also in comparison with the three Presidents who came before him. His disapproval levels are the highest recorded in a study that began in 1995.”Even worse than Ernesto Zedillo’s [1994-2000] during the economic crisis? A lower rating than the management of Vincente Fox? [2000-2006] A bigger failure than Felipe Calderón? [2006-2012] It can't be! What are the Mexican people going to do with a President who, at this stage of the game, hardly does anything? How is it possible that the average of those polled gave Peña Nieto’s work a score of 4.4 out of 10? Equally, he failed with the segment of leaders, with 3.7. The survey was conducted among “1,200 adults from all over the country between the 7th and the 10th April.”
These pathetic results are related to important areas such as the economy, the war on drugs and organized crime, the fight against poverty and corruption, and public security, all areas he has failed in. Our President didn't even pass by the skin of his teeth. What shall we Mexicans do? How do we take such bad news? Pollution, corruption, low oil prices, violence, Trump’s attacks, overpopulation in the prisons and now the latest, the worst news that Peña Nieto won't attend the UN Drugs Summit (UNGASS, United Nations General Assembly Special Session) that will take place in New York from April 19 to 21.
Perhaps Mexico, Guatemala and Columbia didn't call for this session in 2012?** This when there is legislative and scholarly work underway. Even the PAN has presented a proposal to legalize marijuana, led by Senator Roberto Gil! Even the left, with Belaunzarán, Vidal Llerenas and various others, have been pushing these issues. This when the Action Plan on Drugs has been created. So, why the devil did the Secretariat of Government Relations organize so many forums (I had the privilege of attending three of them), headed up by the Secretariat of Government Relations, Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong?
Why does Peña Nieto incur so many contradictions? What is he afraid of? Doesn't he know what to say in front of the UN? Why does the Mexican government not make the most of this fantastic opportunity to assume its historic responsibility? Why don't they face up to this urgent issue? It is urgent for us to decriminalize drug use and to go a step further: it is urgent for us to commit to the legalization of drugs, starting with marijuana. It is urgent for us to decriminalize it for medical and even recreational use. With all due respect in this area, and although they have not asked for my opinion in any survey, I give Peña Nieto a failing grade. Further still, I give him a zero!
Those who protested in Berlin, during his official visit to Germany, also gave him a ‘zero’, demanding a halt to the violence and to find the 43 student teachers from Ayotzinapa normal school who were disappeared in Iguala in 2014). There are videos on YouTube showing both a group of Mexicans, who demonstrated by throwing 43 pairs of shoes into the street, as well as the group of young Germans.
Although many Mexican journalists went along on this trip in the President’s entourage, the German media spoke very little about ‘Präsident Nieto.” The trip was barely covered by the printed press, save for on the political pages where they spoke of the 50,000 deaths in three years. “Many more,” the coverage said, “than in the Middle East, Syria and Iraq.” However, the culture sections extensively reported on the “The Maya- Language of Beauty" exhibition of 300 pieces, that marked the beginning of the Dual Year between the two countries. Thanks to our ancestors, the name of Mexico in Germany has not failed as Peña Nieto’s has.
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*María Guadalupe Loaeza Tovar is a contemporary Mexican writer and author of many books, including Las Niñas Bien [The Good Girls], Las Reinas de Polanco [The Queens of Polanco (wealthy Mexico City neighborhood], Debo, Luego Sufro [I Owe, Therefore, I Suffer] and Compro, Luego Existo [I Shop, Therefore, I Exist], in which she writes ironically about the Mexican upper class. Twitter: @gloaeza
**MV Note: In November 2012, Mexican President Felipe Calderón, near the end of his term, and a group of Central American presidents, petitioned the Organization of American States to carry out an indepth analysis of the impact that legalizing marijuana in Central America would have. In June of 2013, the OAS issued a call to the UN to convene a special session of the UN General Assembly to reconsider its conventions against drugs. The last Special Session was in 1998 and a formal review was held in 2008. See MV's page on the history of UN Drug Conventions and the central role of the U.S. in formulating and enforcing them.