Mexico heartened by poll

Mexican president-elect Felipe Calderon said on Wednesday that Democratic gains in the US Congress could lead to "room for improvement…

Mexican president-elect Felipe Calderon said on Wednesday that Democratic gains in the US Congress could lead to "room for improvement" in US-Mexican relations, a suggestion that headway may be made on immigration and other bilateral issues.

At a White House meeting with President Bush yesterday, Mr Calderon, who takes office on December 1st, expressed Mexico's disappointment with the decision by the outgoing Republican-controlled House and Senate to approve a 700-mile (1,127km) fence along the Mexican-US border. He said new jobs and foreign investment in Mexico would be more effective than a fence as a tool against migration.

He also said that the North American Free Trade Agreement had been a boon for Mexico but more needed to be done to make the economy more competitive.