QUE PASA EL GRINGO-DUBYA?

Jan. 21, 2001, 10:46PM

Bush-Fox rapport fosters new era

By MICHAEL RILEY Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle

MEXICO CITY -- When George W. Bush first met Mexico's Vicente Fox nearly six years ago, both men were governors, both harbored ambitions for their nations' highest office, and both had a practical view of the problems plaguing relations between their countries.

What was supposed to be a 20-minute courtesy call by Fox at the Governor's Mansion in Austin turned into a wide-ranging, hourlong encounter. The two men, who both like to wear boots at the office and spend time relaxing on ranches in their respective home states of Texas and Guanajuato, became fast friends.

"We could hear them from the hall," said Juan Hernandez, a close adviser to Fox, who was inaugurated as Mexico's president in December. "They were laughing. It sounded like they were throwing things at one another. These are two guys who literally just hit it off right away."

That meeting and the early personal relationship forged between Bush and Fox help explain why, with Bush's inauguration as the United States' 43rd president, ties between the United States and Mexico seem to be entering a new era.

Bush, criticized during the U.S. presidential campaign for his lack of experience in foreign affairs, understands the United States' relationship with Mexico better than that with any other ally, some analysts say.

As Bush tries to find a place to make his mark in the foreign arena, these experts say, he will look to Mexico. He could hardly find a more willing partner.

"Personal passions count, and Bush has a passion for Mexico," said Delal Baer of the Center for International and Strategic Studies in Washington. "Bush is going to make U.S.-Mexican relations a top priority, rather than No. 57 on the list in competition with Kosovo and Somalia."

Fox, who ended seven decades of one-party rule by defeating Francisco Labastida of the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, in the July 2 presidential election, has announced his desire to fundamentally reshape the relationship between Mexico and its giant neighbor to the north.

During a media-savvy presidential campaign that drew on his experience as a former Coca-Cola executive and in a trip to Washington just after his election, Fox held up the European Union -- with its open borders and tight economic integration -- as a model for future relations among Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Fox's aides say the new Mexican president is willing to address Washington's concerns over drug and migration issues that long were points of contention with PRI governments.

"The United States is a country that likes to look to the future, that thinks big," said Hernandez, Fox's adviser on U.S. affairs. "Vicente Fox is going to say: `OK, we're changing in Mexico. Are you going to change? Are you going to look at Mexico truly as your closest partner?'

"Mexicans are expecting a lot from George Bush."

Bush is likely to oblige, up to a point, experts say.

The new U.S. president speaks Spanish. His sister-in law, the wife of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, is from the same state in central Mexico as Fox. Most of Bush's experience with foreign affairs has come from dealing with such hot-button U.S.-Mexican issues as drugs, immigration and pollution along the two nations' border.

Some experts say Bush has entered the White House after a decade of economic and demographic shifts that have made the old rules governing the United States' partnership with Mexico unworkable.

Mexico is one of the United States' largest trading partners, thanks largely to the 1994 passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which dismantled many trade barriers.

A sustained U.S. economic expansion has changed the attitude of many Americans toward Mexican immigration, the experts say. Also, growth of Latino populations in key U.S. states has given those voters more political clout.

"President Bush will seek to build a very close relationship with Mexico, somewhat akin to the special relationship the United States enjoys with the United Kingdom and Europe," said Bernard Aronson, a former assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs under Bush's father, former President George Bush.

Still, the U.S.-Mexico relationship is unlikely to be all that Fox would like it to be.

Democratic and Republican lawmakers say that turning NAFTA into a North American version of the European Union, with a free flow of labor and economic subsidies for poorer countries is -- in the short term, at least -- a non-starter in Washington.

But with a fresh wind of democracy blowing from Mexico, some seasoned politicians north of the border apparently are caught up in the euphoria.

After a recent visit with Fox in Mexico City, two key Republican U.S. senators, Phil Gramm of Texas and Pete Domenici of New Mexico, said they would support some kind of new guest-worker program for Mexican immigrants in the United States. Such a program could legalize the presence of thousands of undocumented Mexican immigrants and allow more to enter the United States for short work periods.

Analysts say new attitudes on both sides could lead to progress on important issues.

PRI governments, for instance, adamantly refused to help U.S. officials stop Mexican migrants preparing to illegally cross the border into the United States. There are signs, however, that Fox may consider the idea if a guest-worker program is implemented.

Fox's administration has signaled that it intends to expand cooperation with U.S. law enforcement agencies in the fight against narcotics cartels, especially if the United States agrees to stop its annual certification of Mexico's cooperation in the drug war, a process that many policy-makers here find offensive.

"Getting rid of certification has been a longtime goal of Mexico," said Baer, the analyst with Washington's Center for International and Strategic Studies. "I suspect there will be a deal when we hear from Mexico that they are willing to engage in joint operations in a fashion that they have never been willing to do in the past -- that they are willing to work on expedited extradition, that they are willing to address the issue of the safety of (U.S.) agents in Mexico."

For their part, Mexicans want an early sign from Bush that he is serious about altering terms of their country's relationship with the United States. One way would be to make Mexico the destination of one of his first foreign trips. Bill Clinton was president for five years before he traveled to Mexico.

"We have a lot of wonderful things to offer to the United States, and we need to be closer," Hernandez said. "George Bush can make that happen.

"The table is already set for him to do that," the Fox aide said. "He's set it himself. Now, let's put some meat on there."

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), January 22, 2001

Answers

El Dubya muy muy loco

-- (JoseJimenez@comedy.crypt), January 22, 2001.

Senor Shrubya lyyyykes Mayheeco! He like all zee mucho beeg feelds of oil he sees, and all zee hard-working burreetos who work for a handful of beans! Se, Senor Shrubya lyyyykes Mayheeco, berry, berry much!

-- Paco (will.work@for.taco), January 22, 2001.

another racist democrat. keep the Jesse 'Bojangles' Jakcson minstrel show going boys.

-- lil looloo (l@i.L), January 22, 2001.

IMO we tend to forget about Mexico unless we live in a border state. Yet it is a hugely important neighbor both pro and con. Bush speaks Spanish, knows mucho about Mexico just because he is from Tejas, and apparently has a rapport with Mexico Presidente Vincente Fox. This could be a very good thing for both nations.

Anyone see the movie Traffic?

-- Lars (larsguy@yahoo.com), January 22, 2001.

hmmm, wonder if he is taking his bong w/him?

Traffic, didnt see it yet, heard it was good did you see it?

-- sumer (shh@aol.con), January 22, 2001.