As President Obama wrestled with the fiscal cliff standoff in the United States, Mexico’s newly elected chief executive flew the flag for  “tripartisanship,” signing the “Pact for Mexico” within 24 hours of his inauguration.

Mexico’s massive public healthcare institute isin a desperate financial situation with 88 percent of its budget destined for salaries and pensions.

State-owned oil monopoly Pemex has made the biggest discovery of petroleum in Mexico in the last decade, President Felipe Calderon announced on Sunday.  Initial estimates suggest the Navegante 1 field in Tabasco will yield from 500 million to one billion barrels of crude oil.

Upon leaving office on Saturday, President Felipe Calderon will be entitled to a larger pension than any former president in the United States, Europe or Latin America.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, Canadian Governor General David Johnston and Prince Felipe of Spain are among the dignitaries due to attend the inauguration of Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City on Saturday, December 1.

In an act that will do little to assuage conspiracy theorists’ doubts over the legitimacy of Enrique Peña Nieto’s victory in Mexico’s presidential election, every ballot paper is being destroyed.