Mexico - On December 1st, 2012, Enrique Peña Nieto became the president of Mexico, replacing Felipe Calderon, who had been president since 2006. The president of Mexico has a six-year term, and cannot be re-elected.

Peña Nieto won the 2012 Mexican election held on July 1st. Mexico has a five-month long transitional period between election and inauguration and on December 1st, that period was finally over. The new Mexican Congress, on the other hand, took power on Sept. 1st.

A little history is in order. Peña Nieto belongs to the PRI (Partido Revolucionario institucional), which ruled Mexico from 1929 to 2000. In the historic 200 election, the PRI candidate lost to Vicente Fox of the PAN (Partido Acción Nacional). Six years later Fox was succeeded by Felipe Calderón, also of the PAN party.

In 2012, however, the PRI candidate, Enrique Peña Nieto won the election. Therefore, after twelve years, the PRI returns to the presidency.

Outgoing president Felipe Calderón worked closely with the Peña Nieto team in the presidential transition. In fact, the two met together seven times during the past five months in Los Pinos, the Mexican presidential residence.

On December 1st, the big day arrived in the country's capital, Mexico City. It was a long day, starting at midnight.

Yes, at midnight. The day began at midnight at Mexico's Palacio Nacional where Felipe Calderón ceremoniously transferred the presidential authority, symbolized by a special Mexican flag, to Enrique Peña Nieto. After that, Peña Nieto received the oaths of office of his "security cabinet," consisting of the new Interior Secretary (Miguel Angel Osoria Chong), National Defense Secretary (General Salvador Cienfuegos), Secretary of the Navy (Admiral Vidal Soberon) and Subsecretary of the Interior (Manuel Mondragon y Kalb).

At 9:25 a.m., a special session of the Mexican congress began at the Palacio Legislativo de San Lázaro, the regular meeting-place of the Mexican Cámara de Diputados, equivalent of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Before the inauguration, a representative of each of the seven Mexican political parties was allowed to speak, for ten minutes apiece. At 10:25, a congressional representative of the PRD (Partido de la Revolución Democrática) tossed an empty water bottle at congressman Arturo Escobar, who was speaking for the Green Party.

At 11:10, Peña Nieto arrived, followed four minutes later by Felipe Calderón. At 11:16 Enrique Peña Nieto took the presidential oath of office, and at 11:17 Felipe Calderón doffed the presidential sash which was then donned by Enrique Peña Nieto. (The use of a presidential sash is common in Latin American countries, and is thought to have originated with the colonial governors of the old Spanish Empire days.)

After this ceremony, Enrique Peña Nieto returned to the Palacio Nacional, where he received the oath of his cabinet and then delivered his principal inauguration speech.

After the speech, Peña Nieto went to the ceremony at Campo Marte, an equestrian field also utilized for Mexican military ceremonies. There the new president was saluted with artillery. Also, General Cienfuegos, the new Defense Secretary, and Admiral Soberon, the new Navy secretary, spoke briefly, as did Peña Nieto, who is now commander-in-chief of the Mexican military.

From there it was off to the picturesque and historic Chapultepec Castle, where President Peña Nieto hosted a dinner for foreign dignitaries who had attended the inauguration. Guests included U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden and Felipe, Crown Prince of Spain.

All in all, it was a memorable day. After all, Mexican presidential inauguration day only comes once every six years.

Now Mexico has a new president, who has his work cut out for him. Being president of Mexico is not an easy job.

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Allan Wall is an American citizen who recently moved back to the U.S. after living, and teaching English, in Mexico for a decade and a half. Today, he continues to write articles about various aspects of Mexico and Mexican society. Some of these articles are about Mexico's political scene, history and culture, tourism, and Mexican emigration as viewed from south of the border, which you can read on his website at AllanWall.info.