(Reuters) – Mexico’s new president takes office on Saturday seeking to shift the focus away from a grisly drug war and onto economic reforms aimed at sparking fast growth and pulling the country out of the shadow of regional powerhouse Brazil.
Enrique Pena Nieto inherits a $1.2 trillion economy that lagged other emerging markets for most of the past decade but has gained ground over the past two years, drawing in record investment despite continuing criminal violence.
The former state governor must grapple with the legacy of outgoing President Felipe Calderon – a raging battle with drug cartels that has killed over 60,000 people in the last six years and shaved an estimated percentage point off annual growth.
Returning to power the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) that ruled Mexico for most of the past century, Pena Nieto has stepped back from Calderon’s military offensive against the cartels, saying he will focus on reducing murders and crime.
“Where am I heading?” Pena Nieto said at a meeting of Mexican businessmen this month. “Toward a country with greater public security. So Mexicans can live more peacefully.”
He says he will push through economic reforms and infrastructure projects to speed up trade with the United States and give young people an alternative to crime.
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