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Mexico's drug war continues to get worse and shows no sign of ebbing. All in all, President Felipe Calderon's war of choice on drugs has claimed nearly 18,000 lives since 2006, cost a small fortune in military expenditures and brought enormous damage to the country's image abroad (something especially harmful to a nation whose number-one industry is tourism). Calderon's efforts stemmed from an attempt to legitimize his presidency, but his popularity (and legacy) has suffered, overall levels of violence show no signs of ebbing, and the Mexican army is overextended. Possible strategy changes are assessed. Adapted from the source document.

Mexico's new Foreign Minister discusses his country's prospects under Fox, & explains the thinking behind the "Buenos Aires Consensus" program for Latin America which will face its first major test there. What is in store for the country after eight decades of PRI rule? Adapted from the source document.

When the North American Free Trade Agreement was proposed, it set off a vigorous debate across the continent about its benefits and drawbacks. Today, 20 years after it came into effect, perhaps the only thing everyone can agree on is that all sides greatly exaggerated: NAFTA brought neither the huge gains its proponents promised nor the dramatic losses its adversaries warned of. Everything else is debatable. Mexico, in particular, is a very different place today -- a multiparty democracy with a broad middle class and a competitive export economy -- and its people are far better off than ever before, but finding the source of the vast changes that have swept the country is a challenging task. It would be overly simplistic to credit NAFTA for Mexico's many transformations, just as it would be to blame NAFTA for Mexico's many failings. Adapted from the source document.

Mexico is still far from being a failed state, but it is already entangled in a failed war. Felipe Calderon's war on organized crime and drug trafficking has given him broad support domestically and internationally, but it is costly, unwinnable, and predicated on dangerous myths. Adapted from the source document.

The world's leading international institutions may be outmoded, but Brazil, China, India, & South Africa are not ready to join the helm. Their shaky commitment to democracy, human rights, nuclear nonproliferation, & environmental protection would only weaken the international system's core values. Adapted from the source document.

Despite George W. Bush's dismal legacy, the next U.S. president will have a unique opportunity to change the United States' relationship with Latin America. That will require addressing four crucial issues-Cuba, immigration, trade, and the "two lefts"-in order to consolidate the positive trends in the region today. Adapted from the source document.

With all the talk of Latin America's turn to the left, few have noticed that there are really two lefts in the region. One has radical roots but is now open-minded and modern; the other is close-minded and stridently populist. Rather than fretting over the left's rise in general, the rest of the world should focus on fostering the former rather than the latter--because it is exactly what Latin America needs.

A tenth anniversary assessment of the economic & political impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) contends that it has produced neither the "win-win" situation predicted by supporters nor the catastrophe predicted by critics. Increased economic integration between Mexico & the US has expanded international trade but has made Mexico more dependent on the American economy & has not helped to improve Mexican standards of living. Total trade & foreign direct investment in Mexico during the last 10 years are described, along with NAFTA's effect on Mexico's trade deficit, the value of the peso, job creation, wages, & migration. Although some proponents claim NAFTA has enhanced democracy in Mexico, it is argued that it has actually delayed Mexico's transition to democracy by allowing the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party to remain in power longer than it otherwise would have. It is concluded that new economic, cultural, social, & political realities have made it necessary to rethink Mexico's relationship with the US & consider whether NAFTA is compatible with the defense of Mexican sovereignty. 1 Figure. J. Lindroth