The Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which once ruled the country but fell to defeat in 2000, is back in control of the lower Chamber of Deputies, which plays a key role in budget decisions that will be high on the agenda in coming months. The PRI defeated Calderon's National Action Party, or PAN, during July congressional elections amid broad public dissatisfaction over the sagging economy and misgivings about the drug war. PAN retains control of the 123-seat Senate. After the afternoon opening ceremony, Interior Minister Fernando Gomez Mont handed Congress a written version of the president's annual report cataloging what the administration views as its accomplishments during the previous 12 months. The report, or informe, said the administration has made strides in its 2 1/2-year-old drug war, which has killed more than 11,000 people in the three years since Calderon became president. It said the government has hit trafficking groups hard through major seizures of narcotics, weapons and cash and more than 24,000 arrests through June. The offensive 'has weakened the structures of organized crime and achieved record numbers in terms of seizures,' the report said. 'This has strengthened the rule of law and advanced the recovery of public security.' But many Mexicans are disturbed by the rising death toll. Spectacular slayings, including beheadings and bodies left in piles, have created a sense among many residents that crime and violence in Mexico have grown out of control. But Calderon may be making headway in convincing people that the campaign is working. A poll published Tuesday in the daily Reforma newspaper found growing confidence in the drug war, with half of respondents saying they approved of the job Calderon was doing against drug traffickers, compared to 41 percent a year earlier. But more of those polled believe organized-crime groups were winning the war than think the government was. The Calderon administration said the government ably met the swine-flu crisis and responded quickly to the global economic meltdown by boosting spending for public works and more public lending. The economy is the issue most likely to dominate the legislative agenda. Calderon and Congress face a litany of tough decisions, including how to find new sources of revenue at a time of economic troubles and declining domestic oil production. The U.S. recession has hit Mexico hard by drying up a market for automobiles and other manufactured goods. Economists project that the Mexican economy will shrink by 7 percent or so this year, a major drop. The U.S. downturn has also cut cash transfers sent home by migrants north of the border, one of Mexico's biggest sources of foreign income. Some Mexican business leaders have proposed closing the revenue gap by extending a value-added tax to food and medicines. But the PRI, which commands a majority of the lower chamber through its alliance with the smaller Green Party, has ruled out such a move. The PRI appears well-positioned to recapture the presidency in 2012, and analysts say it will likely wield its new clout in Congress carefully. That could mean avoiding controversy on taxes and budget matters. It was the second year in a row that the informe delivered in written form without the president going to Congress. Legislators rewrote the law to allow the report to be delivered in writing after dissident lawmakers prevented Calderon and his predecessor, Vicente Fox, from delivering the traditional informe speech in Congress. Calderon is to make his speech Wednesodayfrom the National Palace. 