Mexico's Voters Have Bigger Problems Than Trump

To hear some U.S. politicians tell it, President Donald Trump's threats to withdraw from Nafta, build a wall, and kick out the Dreamers may cast a decisive shadow over Mexico's upcoming presidential election. Yet if Mexicans do vote for change, it will more likely be because they are fed up by homegrown woes, beginning with the blatant impunity that has fueled criminal violence and rampant corruption.

While Mexico's surging homicide rate understandably draws top media billing, widespread corporate malfeasance has cut investment, innovation and growth. Even as the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto has championed structural reforms, it has undermined their benefits by affirming the status quo enshrined in the common saying, "el que no transa no avanza" -- he who doesn't cheat doesn't get ahead.