Fox: Mexico ‘advancing on all fronts’
Fox: Mexico ‘advancing on all fronts’
With his countrymen buffeted by underworld violence and his government blasted for failing to contain it, President Vicente Fox vows to defeat Mexico’s murderous drug gangs.
“When you are cleaning up a cesspool, you pass through a period of violence in which things are difficult,” Fox said in a wide-ranging interview with the Houston Chronicle. “But we are going to win the battle, because we are taking all the necessary measures.”
Fox, whose July 2000 election ended seven decades of single-party grip on national power, has entered the twilight of his six-year presidential term. As the clock ticks, Fox, analysts and his critics are taking stock of a presidency that introduced true democracy to the country.
The assessments, not surprisingly, vary widely. But, at least publicly, Fox, 63, remains as optimistic about overcoming Mexico’s myriad problems as he is about conquering gangsters.
As Fox sees it, Mexico’s glass isn’t merely half full: It’s brimming over.
“Fortunately, we are advancing on all fronts,” Fox said in the interview on his presidential plane, en route to the southeastern state of Tabasco where he inaugurated a housing project for the poor. “Democracy has permitted us to advance well.”
Modern Mexican presidents traditionally have used their last years in office — re-election is banned under the constitution — to attempt to define their legacies, even as public attention shifts to their successors.
Though Fox’s presidential agenda seems unlikely to suddenly flourish now, the president has continued to frenetically travel the country, and the world, promoting it.
“I feel very good, with the same desire as the first day, persisting in achieving the reforms, reducing poverty, guaranteeing more security,” said Fox, who spoke with enthusiasm but seemed to have a weary, almost wistful demeanor.
At the housing development in Villahermosa, capital of Tabasco state, Fox told a crowd of mostly poor residents that clean government and political will had provided the cash to offer them affordable homes.
His shirt sleeves rolled up, Fox leaned over the metal barriers to shake hands, exchange jokes, listen to complaints. He walked stiffly at times, betraying aching muscles left by spinal surgery in the spring of 2003.
The gathering responded excitedly, holding up babies and small children to see Fox, reaching out to touch him, calling out “Mr. President! Mr. President!”
“He’s a good man, even if he hasn’t accomplished everything,” said Maria del Carmen Berueta, 41, who lives in an adjoining neighborhood. “They don’t let him work, to achieve what he should.”
Fox said he’s “working hard for Mexico, working hard for a stable, calm but efficient transition” and has “absolutely” no “coulda, shoulda, wouldas” about his five years in office.
“There are no frustrations,” he said. “Things are going well in Mexico.”
To be sure, Mexico has become noticeably more democratic. Once-common politically tinged killings and human-rights abuses have dwindled.
State and local governments have gained power and financial muscle. Though plagued by rampant joblessness, underemployment and low wages, the economy remains stable.
But many of Fox’s more dramatic promises for his presidency remain unfulfilled.
His plan to update labor laws, tax codes and the energy industry has gone nowhere in a federal Congress controlled by opponents. His hopes for an immigration pact with the United States languish.
Some Fox family members have been accused of corruption by a newly aggressive media. One of his political opponents is an early favorite to win next July’s presidential vote.
And Fox’s own center-right National Action Party is poised to reject his choice for its presidential contender.
“The Mexico of the ineptocracy,” sneered last Sunday’s cover of Proceso, Mexico’s leading news magazine.
Fox says he views the criticism as a good thing.
“Everyone has their opinion,” he said. “That’s why this democracy is so enriching, why it has been so good for Mexico.
“Democracy has left us good things,” the president said, “and among them have been this freedom to express oneself, the freedom to speak out, the freedom to criticize.”
Fox, the former governor of Guanajuato state, retains strong public appeal in Mexico, consistently garnering approval ratings higher than 60 percent in opinion polls.
