In news from Mexico, conservative presidential candidate Felipe Calderon narrowly won the presidential election over leftist rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Center-left candidate Roberto Madrazo placed a distand third.
This victory is excellent news for both Mexico and the United States. As a center-rightist from current president Vicente Fox's National Action Party, Calderon has pledged to support business and free trade, two primary drivers for lifting Mexico further out of poverty. Calderon also intends to broaden relations with the U.S. and form a stable coalition government. Lopez Obrador, on the other hand, favors heavy government social spending and turning farther away from American relations. He is no Hugo Chavez or Evo Morales, but nevertheless his populist governing approach seems almost straight out of the welfare-state playbook that has failed so many European nations in recent years.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, meanwhile, Lopez Obrador has alleged election fraud and resultingly is threatening street protests. This, despite a recount which once again confirmed Calderon as the victor. Lopez Obrador may be understandably upset, but publicly becoming a sore loser is, in my opinion, a poor way to respond. Al Gore acted similarly in 2000 and his career has yet to recover. Calderon has offered his rival a place in his cabinet; unless Lopez Obrador has a soft spot for politicians-turned-global-warming-advocates, I think he'd be smart to drop the protests and accept it.
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