The EU congratulated the people of Mexico on their landmark election yesterday, praising the "mature" ballot which ended the Institutional Revolutionary Party's 71-year grip on power.
And the United States lavished praise on Mexico, calling the vote a "triumph" for democracy.
"The elections were a triumph for the democratic process and the Mexican people," a State Department official said in Washington. Of President Ernesto Zedillo the official noted his "important contribution" to democracy. "Without his leadership, commitment and dedication, yesterday's democratic achievement by people would not have been possible."
Calling the Mexican presidential vote an event of "momentous importance", the EU foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, said the Union was confident of developing a "close and fruitful co-operation" with the new Mexican administration.
"I want to congratulate the Mexican nation for the democratic and political maturity it showed during the election," Mr Solana said.
Mr Gunnar Wiegand, spokesman for EU External Affairs Commissioner Mr Chris Patten, congratulated Mr Vicente Fox on his victory and said the EU looked forward to co-operating with him. He said the Commission also praised the outgoing President Zedillo "for his responsible and statesman-like attitude on the night of the elections, as well as for his central role in the democratic opening of the Mexican political system over the last few years".
A free trade agreement between Mexico and the EU came into force on Saturday. The EU Trade Commissioner, Mr Pascal Lamy, said in a statement a new era was opening in Europe's relations with Mexico. "We are confident that economic operators in Europe and Mexico will be quick to breathe life into this agreement and to improve our bilateral trading relationship significantly," he said.
The noted author and former Peruvian presidential candidate, Mr Mario Vargas Llosa, hailed the elections.
He said in an editorial in Mexico's Reforma daily that Sunday's vote marked "a great day for Latin America and for the cause of democracy".
"Dismantling an authoritarian machinery that has been in power for 71 years means reforming the state head to toe," he said under the headline: "From Perfect Dictatorship to Difficult Democracy."
Vargas Llosa once controversially described Mexico as the "perfect dictatorship".
The Mexican media hailed the victory of Mr Fox in the presidential election as a watershed in the history of the country. "The dinosaur is gone," Reforma said.
Excelsior praised Mr Zedillo for his role in ensuring the elections were free and for his promptness in accepting the outcome, which "reflects the profound weariness of Mexicans after many years of PRI government. The errors that were committed, the deviations, the impurities in the administration did not pass unnoticed," the daily paper said. "A historic cycle ended in Mexico and new perspectives opened up." In Argentina, Clarin said "a democratic game, unprecedented in the country, has started".