Three smaller stories -- a debt default by a Mexican construction firm, Spain's recent election of an anti-euro government, and Brazil's replacement of its finance minister with an easy-money political operative -- combine to paint a picture of a world that's heading inexorably towards a financial mess. It will begin with a wave of defaults, as emerging market borrowers of US dollars are unable to manage their debts. Then a critical mass of newly-elected (or newly-configured) governments will throw austerity and other related notions of fiscal restraint out the window. The result will be another wave of aggressively easy monetary and fiscal policies that will set the stage for an epic crisis. Get the details here.