Free Republic

This year, our two neighbors and fellow members of the North American Free Trade Area will have general elections -- Canada on Jan. 23 and Mexico on July 2 -- and from north and south of the border we'll hear some disconcerting rhetoric. But we shouldn't get too alarmed. Our two neighbor nations are asymmetrical demographically and economically -- Canada has 32 million people with per capita incomes of $24,470; Mexico has 104 million people with per capita incomes of $6,230. Oddly, though, they do have symmetrical political party systems. Each has only one party with substantial support in all...

MEXICO CITY -- The race for Mexico's presidency has featured mudslinging, backstabbing, revelations of a questionably obtained Miami penthouse, videotapes of cash-filled suitcases, and allegations of Communist leanings. All this before the campaign has even officially begun -- and with the election almost seven months away.

Mexico City -- Arturo Montiel, a former governor and one of the leading contenders in next year's presidential race in Mexico, announced Thursday that he is withdrawing his candidacy in the face of corruption allegations against his family. The decision appeared to leave the nomination of the powerful Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, to Montiel's bitter rival, Roberto Madrazo, an ex-governor of the state of Tabasco.