Mexican president: No post-election crash

The Mexican President, Ernesto Zedillo, has sought to reassure foreign investors that Mexico's economy will not face a crisis following next month's presidential election.

The poll could see the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI, lose power for the first time in more than seventy years.

Addressing American business leaders in New York, Mr Zedillo said that whoever is elected as his successor will be committed to maintaining stability.

He also cited his administration's economic achievements, which, he said, would help protect Mexico from the turbulence experienced during previous presidential handovers.

Correspondents say every change of leadership since 1976 has been marked by an economic crash, which many Mexicans have come to view as a six-year curse.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service