Petroleumworld`s
Opinion Forum:
viewpoints on issues in energy & international
politics.
Saturday's
Lagniappe
Interview
With Mexico's President-Elect
Mexico's president elect Felipe Calderón
By
Jeffrey Kofman
MEXICO
CITY, July 6, 2006 — - Felipe Calderón's election
headquarters is a rambling four-story building in the Del Valle
area of Mexico City. As you'd expect, the walls are plastered
with larger-than-life images of the candidate -- now Mexico's
president-elect.
Our
ABC News crew was ushered into a sterile second-floor boardroom
to set up for Calderón's first foreign TV interview since
his razor-thin victory. It was hardly surprising that he showed
up two hours late, given all the pressures on his schedule and
the ongoing questions about the legitimacy of his 0.6 percent
margin of victory.
The
final tally of the initial election recount has him fewer than
300,000 votes ahead of his leftist rival, Andrés Manuel
López Obrador.
For
a president-elect, Calderón walked in with a surprisingly
small entourage. He is not a tall man, but on meeting him, it
is immediately clear he has a commanding presence.
Our
initial conversation switched comfortably from Spanish to English
and back again. But when I asked him to do the interview in
English, he refused, insisting that his words were more precise
in Spanish. For a man with a master's degree in public administration
from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, it seemed like
false modesty.
With
a little persuading, he agreed to be interviewed in English
with the caveat that he could switch to Spanish if he felt the
need. Three-quarters of the interview was in very clear, very
precise English.
Mexican Election: Confidence and Gentle Dig at U.S.
CALDERÓN:
I won, absolutely, positive. I won the election and everyone
knows it.
KOFMAN:
Do you worry about people taking to the streets, about violence,
because of the uncertainty here?
CALDERÓN:
No, this is a democracy. Mexico is more democratic than any
other country, and the result of the election will be absolutely
clear, even more clear than the election in the United States
in 2000.
KOFMAN:
When you look at that election from 2000 and all the acrimony
that we saw in the United States, what can you learn from that
situation?
CALDERÓN:
The U.S. electoral system has many deficiencies that the Mexican
electoral system does not have. Here, we knew who the winner
was on the day of the election. We are now just waiting for
that information to be corroborated in the district polls. But
it is 2006, and we still don't know who won the elections in
2000 in the United States.
KOFMAN:
You appear to have won by 200,000 or a bit more. Your opponent
has just 0.6 percent less. Do you feel the need to include that
large group of Mexicans who voted for a leftist candidate?
CALDERÓN:
I understand the mandate of the polls and of the citizens which
is -- come to an agreement. I am going to be an inclusive president.
I am not going to govern only for [my party] -- I will govern
for all. That's why I invite my adversaries to join me in a
national government, so that we can form a coalition. I want
to include everyone.
On U.S.- Mexico Relations
Friendly,
but not too friendly. He has clearly learned from the false
start of current President Vicente Fox when he and President
Bush were called "Los Dos Amigos." The relationship
soured after Sept., 11, 2001, and never recovered. Fox paid
a price at home for being seen as too close to Bush.
KOFMAN:
Under your presidency, do you expect Mexico's relations with
the United States to move closer or further apart?
CALDERÓN:
I will try to do a closer relation with the United States. Without
bowing my head, without lowering my eyes. I am absolutely sure
that it is possible to establish a more constructive, more cooperative
relationship with the U.S.
Most Important Issue for U.S. and Mexico
No
doubts about what that is: immigration. Calderón wants
a free and open labor market across the continent. And he doesn't
want a proposed wall built along the U.S.-Mexico border.
KOFMAN:
What do you think is the most important issue between the two
countries right now?
CALDERÓN:
Immigration. I can imagine the future of North America, Canada,
the U.S. and Mexico like a free region, free market, free investment
and free labor market -- that is really important.
I
will improve the relationship in order to create a new front.
I say Por Nuestra Tierra is the name of the front that I am
proposing, a new front created by the governments of Canada,
Mexico and the United States in order to promote investment
and infrastructure for poor people in all of those regions that
are expelling more migrants to the U.S.
For
me, the lesson is really clear. It is more effective, in order
to reduce migration, to build one kilometer of one highway in
Guanajuato, than ten kilometers of the wall [in] Texas or Arizona.
KOFMAN:
Do you support U.S. plans to build a wall?
CALDERÓN:
No, because that is not the solution for immigration. The solution
is to create jobs in Mexico and to establish relationships in
order to promote the development of the country. It is a social
and economic phenomenon and we need to work in that order, but
I do not believe in walls.
KOFMAN:
Do you support the president's plan to offer illegal workers
-- Mexicans and other Latin Americans -- a path to legitimate
residency in the United States?
CALDERÓN:
I know there is a big discussion and an amazing conflict of
perceptions in American society and the American Congress. I
know that. Of course, I am thinking about Mexican families.
I came from Michoacan and I know how much suffering a wife goes
through who has a husband who she may never see again. I know
how much children suffer who will never see their father again.
I think that migration is a social and economic problem that
we need to solve [in] both countries and the best way to solve
this is to create jobs for Mexico, and I will be "the president
of jobs" in Mexico and will help the U.S. and [its] citizens
in order to create jobs in Mexico.
KOFMAN:
Do you think that if the United States does build this wall
along the U.S.-Mexican border, it will stop illegal immigration?
CALDERÓN:
I don't think so. I think that could increase tension and insecurity
at the border. At the same time, I really do believe that in
the middle of two big countries, there should not be walls.
On Mexico's Refusal to Support the Iraq War: No Regrets
KOFMAN:
One of the reasons there have been some real tensions between
the U.S. and Mexico is that the current government did not support
the U.S. war in Iraq. Will you continue that policy or do you
consider changing?
CALDERÓN:
Thank God that we didn't support the war in Iraq.
KOFMAN:
Does this mean that you can't imagine sending troops to the
Middle East under your administration?
CALDERÓN:
I can't imagine that situation.
Drugs: U.S. Has to Do Its Part
KOFMAN:
One of the issues that has also irritated U.S.-Mexico relations
is drug-related violence. What can you do to address this?
CALDERÓN:
There are several problems that need to be resolved here. Mexico
is doing its part and can do more but the U.S. also needs to
do its part.
I
am also an economist and I understand that the supply corresponds
to a demand. If the U.S. manages to reduce the demand for drugs,
then we will be able to reduce the supply. If that does not
happen, then it will be impossible. It's incredible that Mexico
has managed to capture 32,000 drug-related criminals and the
majority of the capos, José Cárdenas, the Arellano
Felix brothers, several of them. I don't know how many capos
have been captured in the U.S.
Free Trade: It Works
KOFMAN:
Let me ask you about free trade. Under a Calderón presidency,
will Mexico continue to be a part of NAFTA? Will you honor it
or push to have it changed?
CALDERÓN:
I think that free trade benefits people -- better prices for
consumers and producers. NAFTA has given Mexico more investment,
more jobs, workers are gaining 42 percent more than the rest
of the economy and it has created more jobs. We should continue
as is.
