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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8084
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RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
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223036
2009-08-31 19:39:00
09MEXICO2579
Embassy Mexico
CONFIDENTIAL

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FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8084
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RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RHMFISS/HQ USNORTHCOM
RUEAHLA/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RUEABND/DEA HQS WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHINGTON DC
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR MX
C O N F I D E N T I A L MEXICO 002579 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
INR FOR HOHMANN. 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/24/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR MX
SUBJECT: CDA'S MEETING WITH MEXICO STATE GOVERNOR ENRIQUE 
PENA NIETO  
Classified By: Confidential by Political Minister Counselor 
Gustavo Delgado. Reason: 1.4 (b),(d). 
 
¶1. (C) CDA met on August 21 with Mexico State Governor 
Enrique Pena Nieto, from the Institutional Revolutionary 
Party (PRI), who is clearly looking for greater interaction 
between his administration and the United States.  The 
meeting, which followed a visa appointment for his two 
children, came just after a request by the Governor's 
International Relations Coordinator, Arnulfo Valdivia 
Machuca, for the USG to provide assistance on security 
matters.  Valdivia Machuca asked on behalf of its Attorney 
General's Office and State Security Agency for the 
development of an international cooperation program in 
security and justice that would include exchanges of 
information, technologies, and investigative training and 
assistance. 
 
¶2. (C) Pena Nieto noted his concern that Mexico has yet to 
find an appropriate recipe for effectively dealing with the 
country's security challenges.  He claimed that the new 
composition of Mexican politics, particularly in Mexico State 
where the PRI won big in the July 5 midterm and state 
elections, will help to drive solutions to the security 
problem.  He also said he hoped to move forward on 
implementation of a police reform project in Mexico State to 
create a "metropolitan police" that would be controlled at 
the state level and would nearly supplant the municipal 
police, leaving them with only basic transit authorities. 
The Governor commented that the Mexico State municipal police 
are "in chaos," but that his state police, while certainly 
having room for improvement, are at least "acceptable."  A 
critical problem contributing to local police disarray is the 
almost complete lack of municipal taxation authority and the 
dismal collection capability of even those minimal taxes the 
cities can charge, leaving these delegations fully dependent 
on the state and federal government for funding transfers. 
In the short term, he recognized the country's difficult 
economic environment will be a significant restraint on 
strengthening municipal budgets. 
 
¶3. (C) In that light, Pena Nieto discussed prospects for the 
next legislative session, noting that the PRI is carefully 
considering how it might collaborate with the Calderon 
government to address the country's economic woes, but was 
calculating the political costs of such cooperation, 
particularly if it means tax increases.  He also noted the 
PRI's concern that it will be betrayed in any collaboration 
with the PAN should the PAN choose to ally itself more 
closely to the PRD in a bid to weaken what it sees as its 
more dangerous rival. 
 
¶4. (C) Comment: Governor Pena Nieto's outreach to the Embassy 
and request for assistance is doubly motivated.  Mexico 
State's continued struggle with high levels of narco-related 
violence undoubtedly encourage the Governor to address the 
problem using all available means.  This leading PRI 
presidential contender, however, is also almost certainly 
trying to burnish his international credentials in the run-up 
to a future electoral bid.  He has a very strong base of 
support in the PRI caucus in the lower house, is a leader 
among governors, and has managed Mexico State's affairs as an 
able administrator.  He recently held a private meeting with 
President Calderon and will continue to be a power player in 
Mexican politics. 
 
¶5. (C) Pena Nieto speaks and understands some English.  His 
daughter will be attending the Overbrook Academy in Rhode 
Island. 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American 
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
 
FEELEY