For history buffs...

An fascinating article on Mexico's Matias Romero's meeting on January 18, 1861 in Springfield, Illinois with President-elect Abraham Lincoln...

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/lincolns-mexican-visitor/?ref=opinion&nl=opinion&emc=tya5

Useful to remember that the Juarez Liberals who won Mexico's civil war thought the road to modernization was through integration with the country's northern neighbor.