THE MEXICAN ECONOMY - LIFE AFTER DEVALUATION

The December devaluation of the peso shook many people's perception of Mexico as a developing economy well on the path to the ''first world. '' the reaction in general to the devaluation ''has not been a stellar performance: not by the Mexicans; not by the United States government ...' not, at least at the outset, by media analysts; and not by all th e other presumed experts who so poorly understood the underlying situa tion in Mexico. But it is now time to look ahead.''