THE LEGACY OF THE "SEXENNIUM OF CORRUPTION": THE CHALLENGES OF THE NATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION SYSTEM

This paper analyses the performance of Enrique Pena Nieto's government with regard to the fight against corruption. It focuses on understanding the origins of the National Anti-Corruption System (SNA), how it is structured, and identifying the challenges and possibilities of success in the future. Based on a review of the evidence, it proposes that with regard to corruption the performance of the Pena Nieto government was reactive, incomplete, and limited. The efforts made responded principally to the need to placate social discontent, while remaining under-resourced and lacking in an effective anti-corruption policy. Furthermore, there was no political will to consolidate and improve the emerging strategy, or a coalition to ensure its continuity. These defects explain why the SNA has failed to consolidate itself, to date, as a long-term anti-corruption strategy.