Mexicos new Congress could revive stymied reforms
The conservative PAN partys strong showing in Mexicos recent legislative elections could end a deadlock in Congress that stalled tax overhauls and other market-friendly reforms sought by outgoing President Vicente Fox.
The PAN, or National Action Party, won about 41 percent of the seats in Congress in the July 2 elections, taking the No. 1 position in Congress from the long-dominant centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which finished a weak third in the general elections.
Nobody expected before the election for the PAN to be that big in Congress, said Standard and Poors analyst Joydeep Mukherji.
Investment bank Dresdner Klienwort noted that if the victory of PAN presidential candidate Felipe Calderon, who narrowly edged out leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, is confirmed he will have much greater congressional clout than Fox has.
The demise of the PRI could make it easier for Calderon to push ahead with his attempt to form a broadly based coalition, Dresdner Klienwort wrote Thursday.
More : today.reuters.com
Mexico's Gil Sees Limited Risks To 2006 Growth Outlook
Mexican Finance Minister Francisco Gil said Wednesday he sees limited risk to government expectations of 3.6% to 3.7% economic growth in 2006, although sustained high growth isn't be likely until structural reforms are carried out.
The main risk is a slowdown in the global economy, particularly the U.S., Gil said at a press conference.
He said that the outlook for the U.S. economy this year remains rigorous, including the manufacturing sector that most influences Mexican industrial output.
On the domestic front, public infrastructure projects and housing construction are expected to remain
The Tail Wags the Dog: Mexicos Televisa Law Another Nail in the Coffin of Foxs Legacy
Reforms to Mexicos media laws will likely concentrate power (and additional billions) in the hands of the already dominant Televisa juggernaut
Despite wellfounded concerns over the potential effects that the changes could have on Mexican democracy, the Mexican Congress pushed the modifications through, and Fox signed off on the measure
The reckless manner in which the reforms were approved reveals that lingering apprehensions over the quality of Mexicos political institutions, even nearly six years after the end of the authoritarian system, are grounded in reality
Mexico predicts 3 percent GDP growth
Mexico's finance minister said Monday that the government expects to end the year with gross domestic product growth of about 3 percent, a slowdown from 4.4 percent in 2004.
At a news conference, Francisco Gil Diaz said economic growth "isn't what we would have wanted, and could have been higher if reforms had been carried out."
Mexico's Congress has resisted President Vicente Fox's efforts to push tax, labor and pension reforms, as well as initiatives to increase private investment in energy.
Still, 750,000 jobs were created in 2005, Gil said.
Gil said the country's free-floating exchange rate and flexible
UPDATE 1-Fitch sees Mexico ratings weathering elections
Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday that Mexico's July 2006 presidential election, which Wall Street fears could bring instability, is unlikely to cost the country its investment grade status.
Wall Street investors have particularly questioned whether leftist front-runner Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would make a "market-friendly" fiscally prudent president.
"In Fitch's view, unless the new administration departs significantly from the current policy framework, Mexico's investment-grade rating should not be affected," Fitch said in a statement.
Fitch, which considers countries with a rating of 'BBB-' and above to be investment grade, rates Mexico's foreign and local currency debt
Mexicos Congress Legalizes Drugs for Personal Use
Mexicos Congress approved a bill Friday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin for personal use — a measure sure to raise questions in Washington about Mexicos commitment to the war on drugs.
The only remaining step was the signature of President Vicente Fox, whose office indicated he would sign it.
Supporters said the law would let police focus on drug smuggling, rather than on busting casual users. The bill also would stiffen many drug-related penalties: for trafficking, for possession near schools, and for possession of even small quantities by government
UPDATE 1-Mexico central bank sees 2006 growth near 3.5 pct
Mexico's central bank governor Guillermo Ortiz said on Thursday the economy will grow close to 3.5 percent this year, a lukewarm performance with presidential elections looming in July.
Ortiz said he expected gross domestic product to rise between 3 and 3.5 percent. "It looks more likely that we will be in the upper end of the range," he told reporters.
President Vicente Fox pledged before taking office in 2000 to deliver growth rates approaching 7 percent a year, but his proposals for tax, labor and energy reforms have been blocked by the opposition-dominated
Mexico's Congress seeks support against US wall
The Mexican Congress is asking legislatures in Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries to join a coalition against a proposal by U.S. lawmakers to build some 700 miles of barriers along their nation's southern border as part of efforts to stop illegal immigration.
The request is contained in a letter drafted by the speaker of the Mexican lower house, Heliodoro Diaz.
"I hereby ask you, in an act of unity among Ibero-American Congresses, that you share our concern about and condemnation of (the U.S. wall), and that you express the deepest solidarity with the
Mexico's Congress seeks support against US wall
The Mexican Congress is asking legislatures in Spain, Portugal and Latin American countries to join a coalition against a proposal by U.S. lawmakers to build some 700 miles of barriers along their nation's southern border as part of efforts to stop illegal immigration.
The request is contained in a letter drafted by the speaker of the Mexican lower house, Heliodoro Diaz.
"I hereby ask you, in an act of unity among Ibero-American Congresses, that you share our concern about and condemnation of (the U.S. wall), and that you express the deepest solidarity with the
Mexico's Fox to successor: Don't mess with economy
President Vicente Fox of Mexico on Thursday advised his eventual successor to maintain the course on the economy and avoid the political uncertainty that plagues other Latin American countries.
"Maybe this is the weakest part of the economies in Latin America: the inconsistency," Fox told foreign investors in New York when asked about what advice he would give to Mexico's next president.
"We are very impatient in Latin America. In three years we want results or a new economic model," he said, adding that Mexico benefits from ten years of economic and political stability.
Mexico
Mexico's Fox to Propose Cutting Foreign Debt a 3rd Year in 2006
Mexico President Vicente Fox will ask Congress to reduce foreign debt for a third year in his 2006 budget proposal, said Alejandro Werner, chief economist for the Finance Ministry.
``This is a policy that has been successful and we will continue in this direction,'' Werner said at a Mexico City news conference.
The government cut foreign debt by $500 million both this year and in 2004. Fox last week said he will propose to Congress in September a balanced budget for the first time during his six- year
