Mired in crisis, Mexican president aided by discredited opposition

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto sits during a meeting with lawyers in Mexico City November 21, 2014. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Deep anger over the apparent massacre of 43 trainee teachers has plunged Mexico's Enrique Pena Nieto into his worst crisis as president, but with no credible opposition in sight, mass protests look unlikely to force him from power.

Since the students were abducted by police and handed over to a local drug gang in the southwestern city of Iguala on Sept. 26, a wave of discontent has hit the government, spurring calls at protests and on social media for Pena Nieto to step down.