Letter to our readers.

Does anyone feel better now that First Lady Marta Sahagun declared she won't run for president? The first possible woman to run Los Pinos was dragged down by criticism that her election would actually be a re-election, something most Mexicans seem to fear almost as much as a foreign invasion.

Even the New York Times got in on the act by explaining its view on why having a President Marta would damage Mexico's nascent democratic process. Despite that fiasco, at least Mexico will have a woman governor. Amalia Garcia of the Party of the Democratic Revolution stormed to victory in July 4 elections in Zacatecas (see related story on p. 20). Garcia is the first woman to win a gubernatorial election since the autonomous Federal Election Institute took over the election process.

North of the border, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry finally picked a running mate in the form of Sen. John Edwards, though it's not yet clear how much of an impact the new man on the ticket will make. But one thing is sure: the race in November won't be over until the last person votes.

As I write this letter, the Mexican summer is in full swing and in addition to being thankful that school break has somewhat eased morning traffic, I wonder if anyone really was able to leave this capital's borders and escape the madness for a while. Europe anybody?

Speaking of Europe, our cover story this month deciphers the oft-enigmatic relations between Mexico and the European Union. The successes and failures of Mexico's free trade agreement with the world's largest economic bloc are thoroughly examined. However, the moral of the story seems to be one of missed opportunities as our former editor and friend Matthew Brayman thoroughly explains from his new home in London.

Closer to home, journalist Corrie MacLaggan takes an in-depth look at the capital's Zona Rosa. Once the hip center of Mexico City's artistic expression, it now seems to be merely a place to receive a lap dance, buy a porn movie or get a cat call from a transvestite. Is there any possibility this important area near downtown can recapture any shade of its bohemian past? I personally hope so because it's only about 10 minutes from my house and 5 minutes from my job and, quite frankly, the Zona Rosa has been a bad influence on the surrounding neighborhoods. But possibly the most embarrassing part of it all is that it's right in the middle of tourist town.

But maybe I am being a bit too harsh. The Zona Rosa does bring the look and feel of Europe to us at a relatively low cost as anyone who has strolled down Hamburgo, Londres, Florencia or Sevilla can probably attest. And for those who find that a European vacation is a little bit outside of their budget right now, for about 20 pesos, they can people watch while sipping a cappuccino in the cool breeze on Genova Street.

Armando Saliba

Editor