The Left discovered that its post-electoral strategy of constant confrontation was actually helping Felipe Calderon and his popularity instead of undermining it. So Marcelo Ebrard, the mayor of Mexico City, who's a very savvy politician, he changed course. He decided to actually govern instead of simply trying to bring the Calderon government down.

For too long, government officials have tinkered with Mexico's economic structure through piecemeal reforms that seek to ensure political stability but that do not address the key obstacles to greater innovation and competitiveness.

There are too many unions, monopolists, and bureaucrats that behave like hungry sharks, accustomed to feeding off oil revenues and appropriating the extraordinary wealth that Mexico produces but does not share in an equitable and democratic way.

The PRI can afford to push democratization; it can afford to be generous because it has a very good chance of winning in clean elections.