( CNN ) -- Creating more economic opportunities will be Mexico 's greatest weapon in the war on drugs , the country 's president-elect said Tuesday . `` That , I think , is going to be the best way my government can prevent organized crime , '' President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto told CNN 's Wolf Blitzer . Without jobs and social programs , he said , `` millions of my countrymen have no other option than to dedicate themselves sometimes to criminal activity . '' The wide-ranging interview was recorded just a few hours before the incoming leader met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington . In his first meeting with Obama , Pena Nieto said he planned to focus on building trust and boosting economic ties to create jobs . Mexican leader eyes economic ties with U.S. `` We 've lost presence and competitiveness on the international market . ... There 's still space , an opportunity , to achieve greater integration as far as productivity , which will allow us to improve the competitive conditions for creating jobs across North America , '' he said . Pena Nieto , 46 , said his security strategy will focus on reducing the drug-related violence that took 60,000 lives during his predecessor 's six-year term , though he provided few specifics about how he would stem the violence or what aspects of outgoing President Felipe Caderon 's strategy he will change . `` We will keep the policies that I think work , '' he said , `` including cooperation with the United States to effectively fight organized crime . '' The way that fight is waged may have to change , he said , in light of changing U.S. policies such as the recent referendums legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington state . `` Personally , I am not in favor of legalization of drugs ... because it 's not just about marijuana . It seems to me that is a gateway through which people will start taking much more harmful drugs , '' Pena Nieto said . `` But it 's clear that this thing that has happened in two states in the near future could bring us to rethinking the strategy . '' Opinion : To-do list for Obama and Mexico 's new president . Pena Nieto won Mexico 's July presidential vote , marking a return to power for his Institutional Revolutionary Party , which ruled Mexico for more than 70 years until 2000 , when Vicente Fox of the conservative National Action Party won the presidency . On the campaign trail , some political opponents of Pena Nieto warned that negotiating with drug cartels and gangs could be on his agenda -- an accusation that Pena Nieto repeatedly denied . But his denials did n't squelch speculation on both sides of the border that negotiating with cartels -- or at least easing the pressure on them -- could be on the table . In a June congressional hearing , U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner said the war on drugs was nearing a `` potential crossroad , '' referring to Pena Nieto 's plan and his party 's political history . `` While in power , the PRI minimized violence by turning a blind eye to the cartels , '' the Wisconsin Republican said , noting that Pena Nieto did `` not emphasize stopping drug shipments or capturing kingpins . '' In a statement the next day , Pena Nieto 's campaign said he was committed to combatting organized crime . `` The law is applied , it is never negotiated , '' the statement said . In addition to meeting with Obama in Washington Tuesday , Pena Nieto also spoke with other officials , including U.S . Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi . Pena Nieto will take office Saturday in an inauguration ceremony in Mexico City , replacing Calderon of the National Action Party , who has served as president since 2006 . Defiant former Mexican mayor killed .
Enrique Pena Nieto says he wants to create greater North American economic integration . `` We 've lost presence and competitiveness on the international market , '' he says . The president-elect says his security strategy will focus on reducing violence . Pena Nieto says he is against legalizing drugs .