In 2011, with drug-related violence escalating, the anti-drug strategy was widely criticized in Mexico, but the Calderón government was still determined to adhere to it. The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI in Spanish Acronym) made gains in local elections in four states, creating more favorable conditions for the 2012 presidential elections. This year Mexico's economic growth rate fell by 1.6 percentage points. In the social sphere, the public security situation deteriorated. Mexico continued to promote diversification of trade and economic relations. In September President Calderón's meeting with the Dalai Lama impaired the Sino-Mexican relations. <<