Cola executive who has struggled to reform this large and complex country since ending 71 years of one-party rule at elections in 2000. Critics say the singalong was devised to win sympathy for his government, which is in the minority in Congress and embroiled in a row with Mexico City's popular leftist mayor. "It is a political act that has to do with a government in crisis trying to make a mark and bond with the Mexican people," writer Homero Aridjis said. The center of the northern industrial city of Monterrey was also quiet. POOR RECORD Fox, a conservative, has been accused in the past of being too close to Washington but he defied President George W. Bush by refusing to back the Iraq war in the U.N. Security Council. His record at home has been spotty. Fox's National Action Party, or PAN, lacks a majority in Congress and opposition parties have rejected his plans for fiscal, labor and energy reforms. Political pundits have begun to label him a lame duck. --MORE 2354 Local Time 2054 GMT
