On His Own

That's what Leo Zuckermann is, at least among Mexican pundits, in pointing the the things W. did well. Not surprisingly, he focused on immigration and resisting protectionism. He also mentioned that Bush doesn't govern via public opinion polls, but for Zuckermann (not to mention the people of the United States) that wasn't a clear-cut positive.

A certain degree of disappointment about Barack Obama is inevitable everywhere, especially in Mexico. The honeymoon will wear off and people remember that he has called for tinkering with Nafta (and not in the way that Mexicans like), has shown little interest in Mexico and Latin America, and will not likely make immigration reform a priority (nor could he at this point, but he never gave the impression that it was going to be one the first-term agenda regardless of the financial crisis). All of these are very specific points against the president-elect from Mexico's perspective, in areas where, as Zuckermann points out, George Bush was actually pretty good. But as long he doesn't start a handful of wars, the attacks on Obama here will almost certainly be more muted than those on Bush. The reasons for Bush-hatred here are not Mexico-centric. Indeed, they are pretty much like they are everywhere: the War on Terror, the financial crisis, and, most of all, Iraq. That would lead one to conclude that, in assessing the popularity of an American president in Mexico, far more important than the specific minutiae of the bilateral relationship is his fulfilling his role as the a major international leader. (And doing so with style certainly helps.) If Obama can do that, I don't think it will matter all that much to Mexicans that his policies are not ideal.