Unlearning Past Lessons?

Peña Nieto's refusal to debate Ernesto Cordero on economic issues and the PRI vs. PAN legacy reminds one of AMLO's absenting the first presidential debate in 2006, a widely panned decision that helped Calderón pull even with the former Mexico City mayor. It's not a direct parallel, because AMLO was just a couple of months away from the elections and Cordero and Peña Nieto aren't even nominees at this point. However, the prohibitive front-runner again seems overly eager to avoid a rhetorical skirmish, and perhaps a bit too confident of his prospects.