(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/121201_mexico.photoblog600.jpg)Presidency of Mexico via ReutersMexico's outgoing President Felipe Calderon, left, hands the national flag to Mexico's new President Enrique Pena Nieto during a midnight handover ceremony at the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City on Saturday. By Dave Graham, ReutersMEXICO CITY -- Enrique Pena Nieto took over as Mexican president on Saturday, offering a shot at redemption for the party that shaped modern Mexico if he can bring about an end to years of violence and economic underperformance.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (http://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld) Returning the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, to power after a 12-year hiatus, the 46-year-old Pena Nieto aims to use a recent improvement in the economy's fortunes to spark faster growth.
Shortly after midnight at the national palace, outgoing President Felipe Calderon formally transferred power to his successor, handing over a red, white and green national flag to Pena Nieto and saluting him.
"Today I begin to exercise the honorable office of president," said Pena Nieto, who then swore in his top security ministers.
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