page_title: Corruption in Mexico
section_title: Peña Nieto Administration
hierarchical_section_title: Corruption in Mexico / Organized Crime / Peña Nieto Administration
caption_attribution_description: English: Enrique Pena Nieto
context_page_description: Corruption in Mexico has permeated several segments of society – political, economic, and social – and has greatly affected the country's legitimacy, transparency, accountability, and effectiveness. Many of these dimensions have evolved as a product of Mexico's legacy of elite, oligarchic consolidation of power and authoritarian rule.
  Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index ranks the country 130th place out of 180 countries.
context_section_description: Following Calderón's administration, the PRI returned to power under President Enrique Peña Nieto. Although new hopes for a more safe and secure Mexico accompanied the change in office, residual problems from the previous administration continued to pervade the country. TCO violence remained high, local clientelism persisted, and the drug market continued to be profitable.  With these issues still highly prominent and supported by corruption, the administration struggled to establish legitimacy and accountability within the councils of governance.
  These issues of legitimacy became even more defined in 2014, when Peña Nieto became entangled in numerous corruption scandals. In the most prominent and controversial case, Peña Nieto, his wife Angélica Rivera, and his Finance Minister Luis Videgaray were criticized for purchasing multimillion-dollar houses from government contractors. Allegations of vast impropriety surrounded the deal, and citizens began to question the veracity and legitimacy of Peña Nieto's government. Moreover, when an investigation into these allegations was launched, Public Function Ministry head Virgilio Andrade – a close personal friend of President Peña Nieto – was put in charge, and many Mexicans cited the investigation as a conflict of interest in which "the executive branch investigated itself."
  
  This scandal brought about another controversy when investigative journalist Carmen Aristegui and two colleagues from MVS Radio were fired following their reports on the housing scandal. Their dismissal prompted protests and criticism, alongside a new dialogue of the Peña Nieto administration's use of “soft censorship”:  
  "“The government [has] routinely used financial incentives and doled out penalties to punish unflattering reporting and reward favorable stories. While Mexican journalists are frequently targets of physical attack, soft censorship is another more subtle and very significant danger to press freedom”
  As of August 2016, only 23% of Mexicans approved of how Peña Nieto was dealing with corruption. by January 2017, the number had decreased to 12%.
caption: President Enrique Peña Nieto (2012-2018)
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