Yes, drug cartel violence still exists, but this is good news south of the border:
A little noted story from the last year is how Mexico has largely avoided the disaster that is enveloping so many commodity-exporting countries around the world—and especially in Latin America.
Basically, Mexico rejected the leftism that has plagued Latin America lately; opened up their economy under NAFTA to diversify their economy; and opened up their energy sector which has, among other things, let cheap American natural gas reduce electricity costs there.
In the final year of the Obama administration, this is really good news when you consider that at the dawn of the Obama administration I was wondering if Mexico would be the first foreign crisis that it would face.
With a smaller military, it helps to have fewer problems near home to tie down American forces otherwise available for power projection.
UPDATE: But don't put Mexico on the list of the administration's foreign policy successes yet:
President Pena has not managed to address intensifying citizen disgust with government corruption. Every month a new charge surfaces. Highly publicized arrests and prosecutions don’t seem to make a difference. A national movement has not yet evolved, but the disgust spans political parties and economic levels.
But perhaps the administration sees things differently.
