A mere youth?

4 July 2012

Reading the foreign press about Enrique Peña Neito, there’s there’s this continual meme that he is young and dynamic. In a piece for the New York Times, published under his name, the age theme is repeated:

To those concerned about a return to old ways, fear not. At 45, I am part of a generation of PRI politicians committed to democracy.

Maybe 45 is the new 30, as in don’t trust anyone over… but besides not really reassuring anyone that he is somehow committed to a “new” PRI, he is not really young for a Mexican President. The presidents since the Revolution, and the ages at which they assumed officer were:

Francisco Madero.	37
Pedro Lascuráin	57
Victoriano Huerta	63
Francisco Carvajal	43
Venustiano Carranza	55
Adolfo de la Huerta	39
Álvaro Obregón	40
Plutarco Élias Calles	47
Emilio Portes Gil	50
Pascal Ortiz Rubio	53
Abelardo Rodriquez	43
Lazaro Cardenas	39
Manuel Ávila Camacho	43
Miguel Alemán	46
Adolfo Ruíz Cortines	62
Adolfo López Mateos	48
Gustavo Díaz Ordaz	47
Luis Echeverría	48
José López Portillo	56
Miguel de la Madrid	48
Carlos Salinas de Gortari	40
Ernesto Zedillo	41
Vicente Fox	58
Felipe Calderón	44

The average is a little under 48 years of age. Take out Pedro Lascaráin (who was only President for 45 minutes until Huerta assumed office), Victoriano Huerta, and Francisco Carvajal (who lasted four weeks after Huerta fled the country) — none of them elected presidents — and the average is 46 years old… (I suppose you could also take out the 50 year old Emilio Portes Gil — who was chosen by the Chamber of Deputies to replace the 48 year old president-elect Alvaro Obregón after his assassination, but it really wouldn’t change the average).

Peña Neito’s 46th birthday is later this month (the 20th, if you want to send a card… or better yet, ask him for an Soriana Card), so fear not… at the worst, in at least in one thing, he be an average President.