08-09-2016: Latin American Weekly Report

It is sometimes claimed that a typical six-year Mexican presidency can be broken down into three periods of two years each. In the first two, things get done; in the second, the administration starts getting bogged down; and in the last two there is a palpable loss of power and influence. In December President Enrique Peña Nieto will be entering the last two years of his term in office and there are signs that he could fall victim to the rule and begin to become a lame duck. This week’s events suggest Peña Nieto’s more difficult and less powerful last two years in the presidency have started early. In a surprise announcement on 7 September Luis Videgaray, one of his closest collaborators and friends, resigned from his key position as finance minister.