Saving President Fox.(the need for political reform in Mexico)(Editorial)

Castaneda was foreign minister of Mexico from 2000 to 2002.

Latin America has begun to pick itself up. Under its charismatic new president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil is showing new signs of economic life. So is Argentina, after nearly half a decade of recession. Mexico has fared better than most of its hemispheric neighbors. But it, too, must come to grips with serious problems-- meager economic growth, difficult relations with the United States and political gridlock.

Vicente Fox knows he must get his country moving again, lest his presidency be judged a failure. Badly needed economic reforms have bogged down; legislative paralysis is setting in. The answer, perhaps, is to treat these obstacles as an opportunity. Fox could switch tactics, setting aside so-called structural changes like energy, labor and tax reform, and take on a no less important challenge--transforming Mexico's politics. After all, it's Mexico's dysfunctional political system that has plunged the country into stagnation. Reform that, and the country will regain the initiative in other spheres--along with its natural vibrancy and standing in the world.

He could start with Congress. Along with Costa Rica, Mexico is the only Latin democracy that bars the consecutive re-election of legislators. This has insulated them from their constituencies--and kept them from acquiring the legislative expertise needed to effectively do their jobs. The Fox administration should establish popular referendums or plebiscites on major constitutional and international ...