Mexico's Smoke And Mirrors Economy
09/10/2005
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Mexico's dirty little secret (which one? you ask) is finally getting some well-deserved public exposure after years of only being snickered about in private circles.

In a Reuters story last week about Mexico's smoke and mirrors economy, we were treated to the following commentary from a Morgan Stanley analyst on how the billions in remittances from Mexicans living here have kept that country's poor on their knees while the rich continue to, well, you know:

"These inflows have robbed the policy-making class of Mexico of any sense of urgency to move forward on a host of reforms that are needed to make Mexico more competitive and improve health, education and public and private investment . . [Mexico economy shielded from polls, but growth limp]."

OK, no quarrel here. But on second thought, maybe now's the time we should cut some slack for our "good friend to the south." In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, could it be that Mexico has finally seen the error of its ways and taken a major step forward in developing a "sense of urgency" by sending a couple hundred of its soldiers to the Gulf Coast to show "solidarity" with the American people?

I mean, this IS all about helping the many poor and unemployed Americans in that area, isn't it?

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