Strange as it sounds, the red—state phenomenon in elections is starting to spread beyond U.S. borders.

In Mexico, there are (figuratively speaking) red states too. Their support explains why a free—market candidate, Felipe Calderon, won Mexico's election on July 2 against a rather dangerous leftist demogogue, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who sought to redistribute income, probably by "harvesting" it from the red states.

By a curious coincidence, these Calderon—voting Mexican red states just happen to border the U.S.' red states, right along the Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California borders. These states have long been disdained by the rarified dainties and self—important intellectuals over in Mexico City, who have long looked down on them as "carne asada" barbarians and cowboys. But the Mexican red states have learned to ignore that and instead have become highly integrated, economically, with their U.S. red—state neighbors over on the northern side of the border. And it's made them, by Mexican standards, pretty rich.

Like the red staters in the U.S., it turns out they also are fed up with all the overbearing power of the Mexican federal government, too. In fact, many of these states are going their own way, financing themselves, and taking off economically on their own, without federal help. They have real tax bases, after all, why shouldn't they? It's a plan that's worked in the north and that very rugged individualism of private—sector—led growth in these "carne asada" badlands has translated into economic power. And now, it's political power. That explains why Calderon had just enough votes to win, and a leftist demogogue was defeated.

That's good news for Mexico. They dodged a bullet. Investor's Business Daily has an editorial about it here.

A.M. Mora y Leon 07 12 06