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Chavez-led Leftist March Halted in Mexico?

With the victory of the centrist candidate Felipe Calderon in Mexico?s recent presidential election over the leftist candidate Andreas Manuel Lopez Obrador, it seems to be the case that the recent spread of leftist populism in Latin America has been turned back. Lopez Obrador warned the poor of Mexico that a vote for Calderon was a vote for the rich of Mexico only, but his demagoguery couldn?t compete with the commitment of Calderon to stay true to the economic policies of current president Vicente Fox and the votes of women who saw through Lopez Obrador?s promises of a quick fix for the nation?s impoverished.

Lopez Obrador had denied that he was a leftist of the type exemplified by the combative Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and Bolivian president Evo Morales, but there were still fears that the march of populist leaders in South America might make its way north and turn Mexico, like Cuba, into another left-wing Spanish-speaking headache for Washington. Even though Lopez Obrador was able to rally his supporters to his cause and contest the weekend?s election results, European Union observers noted no irregularities. Lopez Obrador had demanded a recount of all 40-some-odd million votes cast.

Can Washington breathe easy? Maybe a bit easier, but there is still the issue of what to do about ongoing illegal immigration from Mexico into the United States, and also what to do about the millions of illegal residents already in America. Just as there?s no easy fix to Mexico?s economy, there is no easy fix for the immigration issue in the United States. If Felipe Calderon takes a line similar to that of Vicente Fox, any fix might seem far off.