    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [May 6, 1997]
    [Pages 559-560]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the State Dinner in Mexico City
    May 6, 1997

        Mr. President, Mrs. Zedillo, members of the Mexican Cabinet and
    other distinguished public servants, citizens of Mexico, on behalf of
    Hillary, of all the members of our delegation from the administration
    and the Congress, I first thank you for the graciousness and warmth with
    which you have welcomed us. We live side by side as neighbors, we work
    together day-in and day-out as partners, but the warmth of your
    reception has reminded us today that we are also close friends.
        Just before the dinner began, President and Mrs. Zedillo took
    Hillary and me to see the magnificent murals of Diego Rivera that adorn
    this great palace. They are very moving works. Along with the paintings
    of Orozco and Siqueiros, they represent the peak of artistic achievement
    in this century and one of the many contributions of Mexico to the
    culture of the world. Anyone who has seen it knows that the power of
    Rivera's ``Epic of the Mexico People in Their Struggle for Freedom and
    Independence'' comes from more than mere technical skill. In this grand
    work we see the proud spirit of Mexico's revolution and Mexico's heart.
        Instantly, I saw Rivera's extraordinary love of the Mexican people,
    the same passion which then and now inspires Mexico's journey toward a
    better and freer society. Rivera never actually finished his epic, and
    perhaps that is fitting because the journey of every nation to increase
    the freedom of its people, the labor at the very heart of democracy,
    never ends.
        I am delighted to be in Mexico at another time when this struggle is
    making a dramatic stride forward. Mexico's leaders and political parties
    are opening the doors of democracy wider than ever. New citizen groups
    have sown the seeds of a vibrant civil society that promises to deliver
    to all Mexicans a better and freer future.
        Mr. President, you reminded us that it was in this palace where
    Benito Juarez corresponded with Abraham Lincoln. Our President, Mr.
    Lincoln, who many of us consider to be our greatest President, called in
    the United States in his time for a new birth of freedom. The murals
    here remind us here that the birth of freedom is more than a matter of
    improving our political systems. We must also strive to see that our
    citizens are free from want and hunger, free from the dangers our new
    age brings, and free to make the most of their own lives.
        The partnership we seek with Mexico is one that will advance that
    kind of freedom, here and throughout the Americas. We want to work
    together to lay the foundation of an enduring prosperity. We want to
    join together to improve the air and water we share. We want to work to
    turn our border into a region of growth, to defeat disease, to defeat
    the threat of drugs, organized crime, and corruption.
        Mr. President, we can succeed because we have forged a relationship
    as broad and deep as that which exists between any two nations. And
    today we have made important progress. We are answering the demands of
    our time, advancing the common goals of our people, serving a friendship
    that is at the heart of what we all want for our future. In so doing, we
    honor the legacy of Benito Juarez and Abraham Lincoln and the constant
    quest for a new birth of freedom.
        Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you now to join with me in toasting
    President and Mrs. Zedillo and their family, to partnership of our
    nations and the new day of freedom it will bring to the friends and
    neighbors of our shared continent.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:09 p.m. at the Presidential Palace. In
    his remarks, he referred to President Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico and his
    wife, Anilda Patricia. A tape was not available for verification of the
    content of these remarks.

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