Felipe Calderon

. President-elect Barack Obama met with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Washington on Monday to begin work on one of the most vital yet challenging of U.S. relationships. As a symbol of the ties between the two nations, incoming U.S. presidents traditionally meet with Mexico's leader before meeting with other heads of state or government.

The Mexican government on Tuesday proclaimed that it was making progress in its war against drug traffickers, in a state of the nation report delivered to a new Congress expected to challenge President Felipe Calderon during his remaining three years in office. The Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which ruled the country for seven decades until 2000, is back in control of the Chamber of Deputies, which plays a key role in budget decisions that will be high on the agenda in coming months.

What does relief sound like? Across Mexico on Wednesday, it was millions of soccer fans shouting "GOOOAAALLLL!" as their national team scored late in the game to defeat the formidable Americans, 2-1. Gracias a dios , disaster averted. Mexico, at any time, is passionate about the revered sport. Throw in the long string of bad news whipping the country -- a bloodcurdling drug war, a deadly flu epidemic -- and the patriotic emotions caught up in facing that big, powerful neighbor to the north, and you have the ingredients for obsession.

Arturo Sandria visited government agencies not once, not twice, not three times. (Hint: Try an even dozen.) He stood in mind-numbing lines, filled out forms, took another number, filled out more forms and, he says, paid $250 in bribes. But after six months, he was still in pursuit of his prize: a permit to paint his house. "Tedious," Sandria declared of his paper chase. "They ask for a lot of things that aren't really necessary."