What role will Mexico’s future President play?

Presumed President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto

Mexico will have a new…

Puppet? Statesman? Reformer? Luddite? Maverick? Dinosaur?

The question is hard to answer. The country will have a new president in December, but what role will he play?

The election campaign in Mexico was long and intense.

It allowed those of us who followed it from within Mexico or abroad to hear numerous pleasant-sounding promises full of good intentions.

We were shown smiles, TV spots and pictures of the candidates presenting themselves as our next-door neighbor. We witnessed the best political marketing that comes with a modern-day campaign.

All that, I can understand, is how politics works these days.

Political campaigns are pragmatic.

The purpose is to gain votes and access to power. Why go into the detail of how to do it, when the mere promise to transform Mexico into one of the emerging economies of the 21st century, reduce high levels of poverty and inequality, and put an end to organized crime is enough to win elections?