[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Pages 14360-14362]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                  CONGRATULATING THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO

  Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate now 
proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 335 submitted earlier 
by Senator Helms for himself and others.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 335) congratulating the people of 
     Mexico on the occasion of the democratic elections in that 
     country.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.

[[Page 14361]]


  Mr. HELMS. Mr. President, unanimity is a rare event in the Senate 
these days but I suspect that there may be unanimous approval of a 
resolution I am proposing commending and congratulating the people of 
Mexico for their July 2 democratic elections, which shocked the experts 
who had predicted that the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party 
(PRI) could not be defeated and driven from power. An articulate and 
steadfast candidate named Vicente Fox Quesada thought differently--and 
he was right.
  With the support of millions of Mexicans across the political 
spectrum, Governor Fox won 42.5 percent of the votes cast--six points 
ahead of the PRI candidate, Francisco Labistida. And since the third-
place candidate received nearly 17 percent of the vote, that meant that 
60 percent of the 37.6 million Mexicans who voted wanted to put an end 
to the PRI's stranglehold.
  Thus the conventional wisdom that regarded the PRI political machine 
as being invincible avoided two facts: (1) the legendary PRI political 
machine had never been in a fair fight; and (2) the Mexican people have 
been striving for decades to put an end to the one-party rule that has 
wrought corruption, poverty, and insecurity.
  Mexico's president-elect, Vicente Fox, has pledged to root out the 
grinding corruption that has locked 40 percent of the Mexican 
population into poverty and the others into insecurity. Mr. Fox has an 
agenda of free-market policies with a commitment that no Mexican will 
be excluded from economic opportunity and development.
  Furthermroe, president-elect Fox has a sensible plan to reform the 
Mexican Government to make it accountable to the people. And, he has 
vowed to work with the United States and other countries to fight the 
deadly gangsters who traffic in illegal drugs in Mexico with virtual 
impunity.
  So, this ambitious reform agenda is good news for the American people 
as well as Mexicans. For the first time, we will have a full partner in 
a truly legitimate and sovereign Mexican Government--one willing to 
work with us to make the most of shared opportunities and to confront 
common challenges.
  Outgoing President Ernesto Zedillo's election-night address, in which 
he recognized the victory of Vicente Fox and pledged to work for a 
smooth and orderly transition, seals his place in Mexican history. From 
his earliest days in office, President Zedillo had declared his intent 
to break the cycle of election thievery that had marked 70 years of PRI 
rule, and the gentleman kept his word.
  A special tribute is due the men and women of the Federal Electoral 
Institute who systematically ensured that Mexicans would get the free 
and honest elections they demanded. The IFE lived up to its mandate and 
has shown itself to be one of the premier electoral bodies in the 
world.
  My resolution congratulates the Mexican people, President-elect Fox, 
and President Ernesto Zedillo. It is a new day in Mexico and for 
relations between our two great nations.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of Senator 
Helm's resolution that commends Mexico on the results of their 
elections. There is no doubt that this was an event of historic 
proportions. The Mexican people have, through careful consideration and 
a peaceful political process, ended over seven decades of rule by a 
single political party. By doing so they have turned their country into 
a true democracy. They deserve this recognition.
  My colleague's resolution captures the significance of this vote to 
the United States in terms of our national interest and our social 
welfare. As my state sits right across the border from Mexico, New 
Mexicans are well aware that the destinies of our two countries have 
been, and will be, intertwined. We have always shared similarities in 
heritage and language with the Mexican people, and this has established 
the means by which cultural and economic interaction can increase 
rapidly and consistently over time.
  It is clear that the new President of Mexico, Vincente Fox, faces a 
broad range of tough challenges as he assumes office and plots a course 
for the future. Expectations are high and the obstacles are great. 
Privatization, corruption, education, economic growth, narcotics, crime 
and health--all these issues require immediate attention. It is 
encouraging to see President Ernesto Zedillo already working in tandem 
with the new government to ensure a successful transition. This will 
inevitably benefit the Mexican people.
  I concur with the goals of the resolution, specifically the pledge 
for increased cooperation with the Government of Mexico so that we 
might confront the threats that our countries face and improve the 
quality of life for our people. I wish President-elect Fox luck in his 
efforts, and I look forward to working with him in the future.
  Mr. ROTH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and any statements relating to the resolution be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 335) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 335

       Whereas the United States and Mexico share a border of more 
     than 2,000 miles;
       Whereas Mexico is the second largest trade partner of the 
     United States, with a two-way trade of $174,000,000,000;
       Whereas United States companies have invested more than 
     $25,000,000,000 in Mexico from 1994-1999;
       Whereas more than 20,000,000 people now in the United 
     States are of Mexican descent, a fact that in and of itself 
     forges profound and permanent cultural ties between our 2 
     countries;
       Whereas the well-being and security of the United States 
     and Mexico require governments willing and able to cooperate 
     fully to confront common threats, including organized crime, 
     corruption, and trafficking in illicit narcotics;
       Whereas the people of Mexico have struggled for decades for 
     a true representative democracy, accountability, and the rule 
     of law and, in recent years, they have sought and obtained 
     significant political and electoral reforms in pursuit of 
     those objectives;
       Whereas the Federal Electoral Institute and its regional 
     councils, now genuinely independent and representative 
     bodies, were responsible for organizing the federal elections 
     on July 2, 2000, in which nearly 1,000,000 citizens 
     participated directly in conducting the balloting for a new 
     president, a new national congress, and state or local 
     officials in Mexico City as well as 10 states;
       Whereas the July 2nd elections were observed by 
     approximately 2,500,000 domestic monitors and 850 foreign 
     visitors, including delegations of the United States-based 
     International Republican Institute for International Affairs 
     and the National Democratic Institute;
       Whereas in the July 2nd elections, Vicente Fox Quesada of 
     the Alliance for Change (consisting of the National Action 
     Party and the Mexican Green Party) was elected President of 
     the United Mexican States, receiving 42.5 percent of the 
     37,600,000 votes cast, according to preliminary results 
     released by the Federal Electoral Institute; and
       Whereas, according to the Federal Electoral Institute and 
     domestic and international observers, the July 2nd elections 
     were unprecedented in their degree of fairness and 
     transparency, forming the foundation for a genuinely 
     democratic and pluralistic government that represents the 
     will and sovereignty of the people of Mexico: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved,

     SECTION 1. CONGRATULATING THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO ON THE 
                   OCCASION OF THE DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS HELD IN 
                   MEXICO.

       (a) Congratulating the People of Mexico.--The Senate, on 
     behalf of the people of the United States, hereby--
       (1) congratulates the people of Mexico for their long, 
     courageous, and fruitful struggle for representative 
     democracy and the rule of law;
       (2) congratulates Vicente Fox Quesada for his electoral 
     triumph and extends to him genuine best wishes for great 
     success in his formation of a new government; and
       (3) congratulates Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon, current 
     President of the United Mexican States, for his historic 
     commitment to ensure the peaceful and stable transition of 
     power.
       (b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate 
     that the United States should seek to--
       (1) expand and intensify its cooperation with the newly 
     elected Government of Mexico to promote economic development 
     and to reduce poverty to achieve an improved quality of life 
     for citizens of both countries;

[[Page 14362]]

       (2) confront common threats such as the trafficking in 
     illicit narcotics; and
       (3) act in solidarity to actively promote representative 
     democracy and the rule of law throughout the world.

     SEC. 2. TRANSMITTAL OF RESOLUTION.

       The Secretary of the Senate shall transmit a copy of this 
     resolution to--
       (1) Vicente Fox Quesada, President-elect of the United 
     Mexican States;
       (2) Luis Felipe Bravo Mena, president of the National 
     Action Party of Mexico;
       (3) the International Republican Institute for 
     International Affairs and the National Democratic Institute; 
     and
       (4) the Secretary of State with the request that the 
     Secretary further transmit such copy to Ernesto Zedillo Ponce 
     de Leon, President of the United Mexican States.

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