The Mexcico City quagmire

San Antonio Express-New/Houston Chronicle:

Broken glass and debris will be cleaned up, but three low-level bombs Monday may have done their greatest damage in adding to fears that Mexico is hurtling toward instability.

The early morning explosions destroyed a bank branch lobby and blew out windows and doors at the nation's Federal Electoral Tribunal and a major political party's headquarters auditorium.

Five leftist guerrilla groups from the southern state of Oaxaca claimed responsibility for the blasts, which did not kill anyone.

"Our political-military action is a response to our determination to reply with revolutionary violence to the violence unleashed by the lords of power and money," the groups said in a statement that was e-mailed to the news media and could not be immediately verified.

Concerns about Mexico's future were sharpened by the attacks, which authorities said were more sophisticated than previous occasional pipe-bomb incidents in the capital.

They come against a backdrop of social unrest, including a summer presidential election that bitterly divided the country and ongoing strife in Oaxaca state, where leftist demonstrators have repeatedly clashed with federal riot police.

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While there are some sore losers in Mexico, the break down of the rule of law when it comes to narcotics traffickers has also led to a break down of respect for law and order from others. Mexico is going to have to rein in the narcs in order to rein in the political terrorist.