The latest opinion polls in Mexico had suggested that an Obama victory would be cause for overwhelming jubilation: one such poll had given the Democrat candidate 38.3 per cent of the vote compared with just 11.9 per cent for John McCain.

But the mood in La Chiquita tortilla shop in the Mexico City neighbourhood of La Condesa was one of “business as usual”. Gerardo Galindo, a 34-year-old who has worked at La Chiquita since he was 20, said that Mr Obama’s victory should not excite Mexicans too much.