Pena Nieto takes power as Mexican president

PanARMENIAN.Net - Enrique Pena Nieto took over as Mexican president on Saturday, Dec 1 offering a shot at redemption for the party that shaped modern Mexico if he can bring about an end to years of violence and economic underperformance, according to Reuters.

Shortly after midnight at the national palace, outgoing President Felipe Calderon formally transferred power to his successor, handing over a flag to Pena Nieto and saluting him.

"Today I begin to exercise the honorable office of president," said Pena Nieto, who then swore in his top security ministers.

The new president gives his inaugural address later Saturday morning.

Returning the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, to power after a 12-year hiatus, the 46-year-old Pena Nieto aims to use a recent improvement in the economy's fortunes to spark faster growth.

He also promises to restore calm after more than 60,000 people were killed in violence between drug gangs and security forces during the six-year term of his conservative predecessor.

He says he is committed to the fight against organized crime, which dominated Calderon's presidency, but has also stressed his main goal is to reduce the violence.

Pena Nieto's inner circle features several ambitious young economists and financial experts eager to prove the PRI can do a better job of managing Latin America's second-biggest economy.