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 Editorials | Opinions | April 2008 
Mexico's Urgent Hour
 The Arizona Republic
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Mexico today is filled with foreboding that very bad things could happen in pursuit of something very good - progress.
Our neighbor to the south began this century casting off the manacles of single-party rule. A new plural democracy elected Vicente Fox as president and hoped he would steer the country to a more prosperous future.
It didn't take long, however, for the same grass-roots movement that put Fox in office to grow disillusioned with his utter failure to move an intransigent Congress and to shake things up.
That was then. Now things are really shaking.
Felipe Calderón, Fox's successor and perhaps the most revolutionary Mexican leader in 70 years, truly relishes a fight. And he has picked more than one with some fierce opponents. Since taking office in 2006, he has challenged the mighty drug cartels and the corrupt police forces.
Blowback is high. Police officers and soldiers are being killed by traffickers. Some 2,500 people died last year in drug-related killings. And since January of this year, 850 souls have succumbed to cartel violence.
As gunbattles rage, the country is convulsing on another front. Calderón is taking on one of his toughest challenges, Petroleos Mexicanos - Pemex, the state's oil monopoly.
The president wants to free Pemex to partner with private companies and stop the hemorrhaging of the country's oil wealth. Mexico nationalized that industry in 1938, but it cannot keep pace with new technology. The oil fields are drying up.
Pemex is more than a leading contributor to the country's federal budget - it is a symbol of national sovereignity and economic independence. Special interests have lined up to fight Calderón for fear that even the most modest privatization will lead to foreign exploitation of the country's natural resources.
Mexico is probably several generations from enjoying first-world prosperity, but like the United States had to do throughout its history, Mexico is battling the foes of progress. And that requires fearless leadership.
In Calderón, Mexicans have a courageous leader. Will they have the courage to follow him? |
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