Brand-New Deal for Mexico: An Election That Has Stocks Rallying

Mexican companies whose stocks trade in the U.S. were rallying on the election Sunday of Vicente Fox Quesada. In beating incumbent President Ernesto Zedillo, Fox ended 71 years of Institutional Revolutionary Party rule.

Over the past 24 years, Mexico's presidential elections, which come every six years, have sent investors running for cover. The last poll, in 1994, heralded a mismanaged devaluing of the peso, rampant inflation and a gut-wrenching devaluation. The previous three elections also brought the economy to its knees.

But this time around, the economy is barreling forward, with GDP expected to grow 5% this year, a pickup in domestic demand fueling consumer businesses and loans, and the current tight monetary policy keeping inflation in check.

And where past polls have been characterized by scandal and violence, this one was, according to election monitor Jimmy Carter, "almost perfect." Carter told CNN, "This was an extraordinary demonstration that the Mexican people were mature and committed to democracy." ...