Meanwhile, Down Mexico Way . . .

If you haven't followed the thisclose Mexican presidential election, Charles Robinson has a good recap in The Washington Post.

Money graf:

[T]here's a serious lesson from the Mexican election, whatever its outcome. The fact that AMLO was able to finish in a dead heat with Calderón, who vowed to continue the free-market policies of President Vicente Fox, underscores how Latin America as a region is looking to the political left for solutions. For two decades the region followed a set of prescriptions known as the "Washington consensus" -- privatization, free trade, less regulation. But most Latin economies have been relatively stagnant, compared with other regions, and even in countries such as Chile, where growth was robust, not enough of the bounty has trickled down to the poor majorities who live from hand to mouth.