Calderon worries about rise of 'undemocratic' governments in region

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1:54 p.m. January 17, 2007

MEXICO CITY – President Felipe Calderon expressed concern about what he described as the rise of “undemocratic” and “lifetime” regimes in Latin America, but expressed hope in an interview published Wednesday that Mexico could serve as a counterweight to that tide.

Calderon's predecessor, Vicente Fox, engaged in diplomatic spats with some of the region's leftist leaders, but Calderon has been seeking to strengthen ties with the rest of Latin America since taking office on Dec. 1.

“For many countries, the rise of new types of lifetime or undemocratic regimes is a cause of concern, which necessarily opens up space (for Mexico) to play a balancing role in the region,” Calderon told the newspaper El Universal on Tuesday.