Fox has done fine. The problem is his party. The PAN (National Action Party) is kind of screwing around right now, and the PRI still hold the majority of power. Until Fox gets support in Congress, he can and has done very little.
This leads to another problem: High expectations. The people of Mexico voted in Fox expecting a lot of big changes to ensue. They expected and end to corruption. They expecteed high economic growth. They expected Fox and the PAN to do in 6 years what the PRI couldn’t do in 60. And when they couldn’t, the people became very annoyed with the PAN, and that is where we stand today.
In regards to Chiapas, it seems to have quieted down considerably, and real progress is being made, IIRC. Though I still would advise travelers to the area to be careful, since you’ll probably get shot or something. Or not. Like I said, things have been changing. AFAIK, Fox has only helped the improvement of relations, so I give him a thumbs up.
Regarding the cartels, cooperation with the US has been expanded, The law enforcement has grown much less corrupt, and many arrests have been made. Finally. Hopefully when the PAN shapes up, and if this new batch of PRI politicians are honest, more headway will be made. Thumbs up.
I was in Sweden once, and there was an exhibit showing these great photos from around the world, of beautiful landscapes, of amazing aspects of our world. The one from Mexico was of a woman rooting through a huge trash pile in Mexico City.
It addressed an important problem, however, namely that I remember when Mexico city was so bad that pigeons would fall dead out of the sky from pollution and “smog days” would give children days off school. I haven’t been back since 96 or so, but it seems like its getting a little better, though I have a feeling somethings about to blow. That being said, Fox has not done enough. Thumbs down.
Population is slightly different, but essentialy the same. People go to Mexico city because living in the country was unsustainable. Unfortunately, living in Mexico isn’t exactly easy either (even with the tax breaks); there are few jobs, and huge shantytowns spot the landscape.
Regarding corruption: Corruption has always played a significant role in Mexico. The PRI, the dominant party of the last 70 years, was founded on the principle of corruption, when a few generls got together and decided to form a party that would gather up all the spoils and distribute the spoils amongst the party members. There was only the barest pretense of legitimacy. (My great aunt was the secretary of the Mexican Joint Chiefs and president during a few of the early PRI administrations. She knew everything.) And it continued for years and years, culminating in the election and administration of my (very, very, very) distant cousin Salinas, who basically took the hugest crap on Mexico and is now living in Ireland or Spain. It was his corruptness that, I believe, gave the PAN hope for the election.
Thankfully, however, Zedillo started a good policy and Fox has continued it. The police have been somewhat purged, salaries have been raised, corruption has been fought. It is now much harder to bribe a police officer, especially in the cities. While it is nowhere close to perfect, it is much much better than 10 years ago. That being said, forigners are still going to have a more difficult time with the Mexican police, who will attempt to slap extra fines on you in order to sap out more money from your pocket. but it is still, even for them, much better.
As for poverty, Fox came in promising IIRC 6% growth in economy. It is now at about 1-2%. The people expected 6%, and are miffed that the economy has slowed down. Unfortunately, Fox can’t do a whole lot; he is impeded by congress. He can’t break the monopoly of PEMEX (the Mexican Oil company), for one thing, and though he made some advances like vastly simplifying getting a business started, He just hasn’t been able to do to much. Which isn’t too bad, I guess, but like I said, the people want the PAN to do in 6 years what the PRI (who did their part to hlp the economy in the old days by paying the poor to hop in a van and go to various polling stations and vo for a reselected candidate) could not do in 60. If he doesn’t do it, while he sill is liked by Mexicans, his party will fall, and so will he.
Another problem is debt. Mexico had in the 50’s a good economy. Then oil was discovered, and Mexico undertook a great era of borrowing, under the impression that the oild would pay it all back. Debt skyrocketed, and Mexico’s economic troubles really began when the oil lost a lot of its value in the market. Corrupt business practices and inefficiencies where also crippling. While the debt is under control, i cannot see a strong change until PEMEX is reformed, which will happen sometime between never and never.
The problem with the PAN is that it is portrayed in mexico as the party of the rich, of business over the people. The PRI, on the other hand, is the people’s party. while this is laughable, the PAN is not helping at all; in their latest debates they never outlined their own positions but just attacked the PRI. They haven’t done too much, which is why they were voted out of many places, especially Nuevo Leon, the most important state in Mexico. while Fox has done well, he needs to do better, or else Mexico is in for harder times than it should be.