Mexico: Land of Opportunity

Rodney Dangerfield, he of the recent heart-valve surgery, made getting no respect respectable and thus blazed a trail for markets such as Mexico's Bolsa. China grabs all of the attention as the world's low-cost exporter of manufactured goods. France, for some, continues to present a litmus test on whether our foreign policies are on course. Venezuela's obstreperous Hugo Chavez is going for the hemisphere's PITA award (pain in the 'you-figure-it-out').

Mexico, our NAFTA partner and economic symbiont, simply goes about its business quietly, effectively and without a whole lot of respect. In 2004 its benchmark Bolsa index is almost 16.3% higher in peso terms. Unlike many previous rallies dependent on a weak peso to boost exports, this one has occurred within an environment of relative currency stability; the peso is down only 1.4% against the dollar on a year-to-date basis.

A common lament in Mexico is that it is so far from God and so close to the U.S. As we will see below, this should be amended to recognize that God gave the nation oil to export to El Norte.

The Peso

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