They both work to increase the potential for third parties to gain a say, though with proportional representation to a much greater degree.
If I were to pick one for America, I'd definitely rather have IRV - it allows people to see how far third parties are coming up, and the major parties to adjust their platforms accordingly.
Candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, courtesy WaPo
While conservative Calderon's lead has shrunk to less than one half of one percent, his campaign is eager to declare the recount over and Calderon the winner. Obrador, the left's candidate in the race, has issued a statement challenging the validity of the outcome as ballot boxes are being found in garbage dumps, including 10 official ballot boxes found in a dump in a poor area, according to the Mexican paper El Universal. Link
This is Mexico's first real test of election safeguards since they were installed roughly a decade ago -- all other presidential elections up until now under the new election scheme have not been close at all.
Echoing jre's post, Instant Runoff Voting would have likely produced a clear majority winner (neither Obrador or Calderon have more than 40% of the vote!). IRV is gaining some serious traction here in the states, with cities like Takoma Park, San Francisco and Burlington having adopted it, and states like Delaware, Maryland and Vermont considering it statewide. Both IRV and PR (proportional representation) may be exotic here, but to much of the rest of the world it's nothing new -- and it works.
Democrats: easiest way to eliminate the "spoiler" role of Greens and progressive Independents? Implement IRV!
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If I were to pick one for America, I'd definitely rather have IRV - it allows people to see how far third parties are coming up, and the major parties to adjust their platforms accordingly.