    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1995, Book II)]
    [October 10, 1995]
    [Pages 1557-1558]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks Prior to Discussions With President Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico
    and an Exchange With Reporters
    October 10, 1995

    Mexican Financial Recovery

        President Clinton. Let me say again how very pleased I am to have
    President Zedillo here and to congratulate him on his strong, determined
    leadership during this period of economic difficulty for Mexico.
    Inflation is down, the peso is stable, the stock market is stabilized,
    and interest rates have been cut in half. I think Mexico has clearly
    turned the corner, thanks to his leadership.
        I also would point out that he has continued to implement the NAFTA
    agreement and to lower tariffs on American products during this
    difficult time, and he deserves a lot of credit for that. As a result of
    that, our exports to Mexico are now above where they were before

    [[Page 1558]]

    NAFTA was passed, even though Mexico is going through this difficult
    time.
        So I have nothing but the highest compliments for the way Mexico has
    handled this difficult period, and I think it's due to the leadership of
    the President and his team who are here. And I am delighted to have this
    chance to visit with him.
        President Zedillo. I also want to congratulate you for the
    international leadership that you have shown regarding the Mexican
    situation. I think that your decisive, effective action avoided a major
    crisis in the international financial system and a much higher cost for
    many other countries, perhaps including your own country. You have
    proven to have a vision, courage, perseverance. And the Mexican people
    recognize you for that.
        President Clinton. Thank you very much.

    Antiterrorism Legislation

        Q. Mr. President, earlier you mentioned the derailment of the train.
    And after you spoke to us, your Press Secretary talked about the
    unhappiness within the administration about Congress' failure to pass
    the terrorism bill. I wondered if you could give us your thoughts on
    that and whether you think there's any legitimacy in what some Members
    are saying, that is, the FBI behavior at Waco and Government behavior at
    Ruby Ridge have made people a little bit leery about passing that kind
    of legislation.
        President Clinton. First of all, what we asked for in the
    antiterrorism bill would not make more likely any kind of actual or
    alleged abuse of police authority. It would just give us the ability to
    deal with terrorism.
        Secondly, I have been very eager to be accountable and to see this
    administration accountable and to see Government generally accountable
    for the mistakes that are made in the past, whether it was on--whether
    someone believes we did something wrong at Waco--we've had an
    independent review of that--or on the Ruby Ridge thing, which happened
    before I became President, or what we've done with the announcement we
    made on the radiation experiments, which happened a long time before I
    became President.
        So I think the answer is, give us the tools we need to fight the
    problems of today and tomorrow with antiterrorism, but hold us strictly,
    strictly accountable. That's the answer. That's the balanced, fair
    answer. We can achieve both.
        There are some things--if the House, for example, wanted to make
    some modifications in the habeas corpus provisions, some other things to
    try to guard against abuse or protect people, they could do that. We
    could work that out. But to do nothing is a mistake. That's the point I
    want to make. It's a mistake to do nothing.
        Q. Is Congress playing games here, do you think?
        President Clinton. I don't want to characterize their motives. I
    just think they should act. They said that we'd have a bill by, I think,
    Memorial Day, and that was months ago. So we should not do nothing. We
    should act. If they want to work on how we should change the bill, I'd
    be happy to discuss that. But we need the bill.

    [At this point, one group of reporters left the room, and another group
    entered.]

    Mexican Financial Recovery

        President Clinton. I would like to again welcome President Zedillo
    to the United States, along with his very able governmental
    representatives here, and to say again how much the United States
    appreciates the difficulty that Mexico and the Mexican people have been
    through in the last several months and how much we respect the
    leadership that the President has shown.
        It is clear to us, looking from the outside, that the worst is past,
    that the economy is turning around. And it is clear that the United
    States did the right thing in trying to provide some financial support
    to Mexico in that difficult period. I think the future looks good.
        I know there are difficult times ahead, but I have been very
    impressed by the strong and steady leadership of the President. And I
    hope that we can continue to work together until prosperity is fully
    restored to Mexico and we can have the kind of partnership for the 21st
    century that I believe will benefit both the people of Mexico and the
    people of the United States.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:09 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White
    House. Following President Clinton's remarks, President Zedillo made
    brief remarks in Spanish, but a translation was not provided. A tape was
    not available for verification of the content of these remarks.