A Conventional Guy

Enrique Peña Nieto's recent declaration --that he opposes the Supreme Court's decision to allow same-sex couples to adopt, but he accepts it-- is not just a minor and politically wise example of trying to have it both ways: i.e., he's with the majority of Mexicans who are uncomfortable about gay couples adopting, but, as with the population at large, it's not the most important thing on the radar screen and he's not dipping into any Guanajuato-like radicalism in his opposition. In addition to all of that, it's yet another little piece of Peña Nieto on the national stage that tells us very little. Most every comment he's made over the past two years that could be used to infer some sense of his views on the issues of the day --insecurity, Mexico's drift toward social liberalism-- has seemed calculated to appeal to the largest segment of society. It may not all actually be entirely calculated, but it makes Peña Nieto come off as too standard issue, too unremarkable. I'd like, in the next two years, to see more from him that suggested an independent, critical thinker.