MEXICO . . . THE DEVIL THEY KNOW

Mexico's paradoxically named Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) has weathered the toughest election in its 65-year rule -- i.e., the cleanest and most competitive vote in the country's history. By this evening, ballot counters said PRI candidate Ernesto Zedillo had a comfortable lead over rival Diego Fernandez de Cevallos, of the conservative National Action Party. Cuauhtemoc Cardenas, of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, trailed both. A hopeful sign: more than 70 percent of those registered voted, far above the expected 50 percent.