México's Next Government

Vicente Fox never really had a chance to get much accomplished, especially with the PRI controlled congress in México. Him being elected in 2000 was just what México needed for a freer future, the ball is now rolling.

Fox's election in 2000 was greeted as a new era in Mexico, one in which it seemed suddenly possible that all of Mexico's problems hadbeen solved. But many of Fox's admirers have been disappointed by the results. Perhaps unduly disappointed: Mexico's economy is growing at a good rate, its currency seems stable (no devaluation since 1994), there has been progress in strengthening the rule of law. Calderón seems prepared to offer further reforms, which may well be passable in the Congreso. Countries don't change overnight. But Mexican voters' decision, by a very narrow margin, to elect Felipe Calderón seems to put Mexico on a trajectory to further progress to freer markets, more economic growth, stronger democratic institutions, and rule of law.

Michael Barone takes a look at Mexico's next government.

ELECTION UPDATE:
Mark in México has the skinny:

Polls recounted: 11,838
Calderon: -6769 votes
A.M. López Obrador: +304 votes
AMLO gain: +7073 votes
Avg. gain per poll: +0.5975 votes

If we extrapolate the AMLO gain per poll over the 131,000 polls utilized in the election, and we say that AMLO would gain the same number of votes per poll, he would recover 128,000 votes. He lost the election by about 260,000, so he still loses.