Mexico: The Next India or China?

Mexico continues to get more and more attention on its manufacturing and export success.  In a NYT Op-Ed over the weekend Thomas Friedman stated that he believes Mexico will become the more dominant economic power in the 21st century. 

Of course he's making a point, but its not that unrealistic to see how Mexico has become an unlikely challenger to China and India.

Money quote:

Something happened here. It’s as if Mexicans subconsciously decided that their drug-related violence is a condition to be lived with and combated but not something to define them any longer. Mexico has signed 44 free trade agreements — more than any country in the world — which, according to The Financial Times, is more than twice as many as China and four times more than Brazil. Mexico has also greatly increased the number of engineers and skilled laborers graduating from its schools. Put all that together with massive cheap natural gas finds, and rising wage and transportation costs in China, and it is no surprise that Mexico now is taking manufacturing market share back from Asia and attracting more global investment than ever in autos, aerospace and household goods. 

Link to Op-Ed piece How Mexico Got Back In The Game.