Mexico’s oil is running out and unless it acts soon to boost exploration it could be importing fuel within a decade. That stark reality was spelled out this week by Felipe Calderón, the country’s president, announcing plans to give Pemex, the state-owned oil company, greater freedom and flexibility to ally with foreign partners. Mexico’s politicians should back him.

Mexico’s problem is two-fold. First, most of its oil reserves are offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, accessible only through advanced deep-sea drilling. Second, clauses in the constitution block the country from buying in this expertise.