Enrique Pena Nieto vs Ricardo Martinelli

Enrique Peña Nieto won the presidential election, returning the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) to power after 12 years in opposition. His victory was seen as a restoration of the old guard, despite promises of reform.

Peña Nieto brokered the Pact for Mexico, a cross-party agreement to pass structural reforms. The pact enabled major legislation on energy, education, and telecommunications, but later collapsed amid corruption scandals.

Peña Nieto pushed through a constitutional reform ending Pemex's monopoly, allowing private and foreign companies to explore and produce oil and gas. This was a historic shift in Mexico's energy policy, aimed at boosting production.

On September 26, 2014, 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers' College were forcibly disappeared in Iguala, Guerrero. Pe

Ricardo Martinelli, a wealthy supermarket magnate, won the 2009 presidential election as the candidate of the Alliance for Change coalition. His campaign focused on anti-corruption and economic development, and he won with a landslide majority.

Martinelli's presidency oversaw rapid economic growth, major infrastructure projects (including the Panama Metro), and a controversial crackdown on crime. His administration was marked by allegations of authoritarianism, corruption, and nepotism, but also significant public works.

After leaving office, Martinelli faced multiple corruption investigations. In 2015, he fled to the United States but was later extradited to Panama in 2018. He was convicted of money laundering in 2019 and sentenced to prison, though he maintained his innocence.