More on Mexico

From Deroy Murdock on NRO -- with charts and graphs even!

"In constant 2000 dollars, the World Bank reports, Mexican per-capita GDP was $7,758 in 1980. It inched upward to $8,661 in 2003. Over that period, Chile went from trailing to topping Mexico, with its figures rising from $4,620 to $9,706. Former laggard South Korea leapfrogged from $4,556 to $16,977.In 1980, Mexico’s per-capita GDP was 34 percent of America’s. By 2003, it had slid to 24 percent. Concurrently, South Korea began behind Mexico, at 20 percent, and then outpaced it to achieve a per-capita GDP 48 percent of America’s. "

If you want to open a business in Mexico, it'll take you awhile -- and you probably have to grease some pockets (perhaps many of them) in order to do so. Murdock also points out that Mexico and North Korea are the only two nations on earth totally closed (many nations place restrictions, but not total bans) to outside foreign investment in the energy sector. Yes, even that paragon of economic virtue CUBA allows foreign firms (Chinese) to explore and drill for energy.