Mexico says it's prepared for U.S. election surprise

The Mexican government has taken steps to cushion the economy from any turbulence arising from a Donald Trump victory in next week's U.S. presidential election, Finance Secretary Jose Antonio Meade said Friday. Those steps include drafting a 2017 budget "that brings us back to a primary surplus," putting aside funds to meet all sovereign debt obligations that come due during the first five months of next year, and presenting a new business plan for state oil company Pemex, Meade told Radio Formula.
"All this allows that this volatility we are already seeing does not affect any real (economic) variable," he said.
Polls show Democrat Hillary Clinton with a narrow lead over Republican candidate Trump with days to go before the Nov. 8 election.
The real estate mogul launched his campaign for the Republican nomination with a speech that featured a denunciation of Mexican immigrants to the U.S. as criminals and "rapists."
Since then, Trump has vowed to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico and to scrap the North American Free Trade Agreement.
"We are calm," Meade said Friday, adding that should Trump win, the Mexican government will closely monitor the reactions in financial markets.
"We are alert and we have instruments to react according to what we are seeing," he said, downplaying the likelihood of any dramatic announcements in Mexico on the day after the U.S. election, regardless of the outcome.
"It is not worth the trouble of hasty reactions before we have clarity about the scenario we are going to face," the finance secretary said.