Mother: Maria del Perpetuo Socorro Ofelia Nieto Sanchez, a teacher
Marriages: Angelica Rivera, (2010-present); Monica Pretelini Saenz, (1994-2007, her death)
Children: with Monica Pretelini Saenz: Paulina, Nicole, Alejandro; while still married to Saenz: one son with Maritza Diaz Hernandez; one son, died as infant, with woman unknown to Fast Facts researchers.
Education: Universidad Panamericana, B.A., 1989; Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, M.A., 1991
Religion: Roman Catholic
Other Facts:
Peña Nieto’s election marks the return to power of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The PRI controlled the Mexican presidency for more than 70 years, until the 2000 election.
His wife, Angelica Rivera, is a soap opera star.
He is the fifth member of his extended family to serve as the governor of the State of Mexico. His second cousin directly preceded him as governor.
Timeline:
1978 – Attends school in the United States for a year to learn English.
1984 – Becomes a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).
1999 – Begins working for his cousin, Arturo Montiel Rojas, governor of the State of Mexico.
2000-2002 – Secretary of administration for the State of Mexico.
2003-2004 – Representative of the 13th District of the State of Mexico.
2005-2011 – Governor of the State of Mexico.
July 1, 2012 – Wins the presidential election, with 38% of the vote.
August 31, 2012 – The electoral tribunal validates election results and officially names Peña Nieto as president-elect.
November 7, 2014 – Protesters march in Mexico City, in reaction to the disappearance of 43 students from a teacher’s college in Guerrero state in September. The students’ parents have been highly critical of Peña Nieto for his administration’s handling of the investigation. A cell phone video from a closed-door meeting with the President, taken on October 30 and released on YouTube, shows one family member saying Peña Nieto should resign if he can’t deliver answers.
November 2014 – Mexican news website Aristegui Noticias publishes an investigative report that alleges President Peña Nieto and his wife have been living in a lavish $7 million mansion owned by a contractor who’s won lucrative government projects. In response, the government says that first lady Angélica Rivera has been making payments on the house with money she’s made from her acting career.
March 7, 2016 – Excélsior newspaper publishes an interview with Nieto, in which he says Mexico will not pay for presidential candidate Donald Trump’s proposed wall and compares Trump to Adolf Hitler.







