The day after his inauguration on December 1, Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto joined with leaders of the country’s two main opposition parties to sign the “Pact for Mexico,” a joint pledge to pursue dozens of domestic reforms in areas such as education, telecommunications, and energy. At the time, it was unclear how soon the most controversial reforms would be adopted, or whether they would be adopted at all. Mexico had suffered from years of legislative gridlock, and powerful interest groups were determined to protect their turf. Did the Pact for Mexico represent a historic breakthrough? Or was it mostly a symbolic gesture?

Thus far, it seems that the agreement really was a breakthrough. On February 25, Peña Nieto approved the most ambitious Mexican education reform in several decades, a reform that will hopefully raise standards for teachers and make their promotions contingent on classroom performance. (A day after the education reform became law, the leader of Mexico’s most powerful teachers’ union—a woman long suspected of massive corruption but also considered politically untouchable—was arrested and accused of embezzling more than $200 million.) On March 21, the lower house of the Mexican congress passed a telecom reform that will promote greater competition and make it easier for the government to crack down on monopolistic practices. The telecom reform is now being considered by the Mexican senate, and is expected to win approval sometime this month.