Into the sunset.

Mexican President Vicente Fox is a man caught in the middle. In the middle of politics (reform versus a recalcitrant Congress); the middle of economics (as most emerging countries boom, Mexico instead tracks slow-and-steady U.S.A.); and the middle of history itself. He'll be remembered as the man who undid a lifetime of one-party rule. And as the man who couldn't turn that mandate into real change, no matter how hard he tried.

Fox is an interesting guy, well spoken, opinionated, and warm. He's taller and thinner than he appears in photos, and more grandfatherly than his Marlboro-man, boots-and-mustache gruffness suggests. He's also a politician first and foremost, with a message to send and no qualms whatsoever about using the press the send it. In our exclusive interview with Fox aboard his airplane, the Presidente Juarez, he spoke at length about the vital need for even more change in his country.

Of course, it's a sales pitch for his party's candidate in elections in July. But Mexico is in fact at a serious crossroads: Whoever's in charge going forward, he'll inherit a decaying state-run oil industry, a hurricane-battered tourism business (storm season cranks up again next month), drug crime that has turned the U.S. border into a war zone, competitiveness reforms stalled in the Congress, and an obvious addiction to billions in U.S.-dollar remittances.

Even a serious Congress, a strong mandate at the ballot box and the total focus of every Mexican--what Fox asked for six years ago--probably won't be enough. And there's no sense that his successor will get any of these things, either.

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P.S. Old school corporate social responsibility is being turned on its head. Instead of writing checks, Latin America's smarter managers look for a business opportunity first. Our exclusive benchmarking survey on business values is here, too (page 26).