    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [May 8, 1997]
    [Pages 566-574]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's News Conference With Central American Leaders in
    San Jose
    May 8, 1997

        President Figueres. Good afternoon, friends. I wish to express on
    behalf of the heads of state and of government of Central America and
    the Dominican Republic how pleased we are with the results of the
    extraordinary work session we have had this morning with President
    Clinton. It has been a very sincere dialog, a very realistic dialog, a
    very human dialog, and especially, a very friendly dialog.
        I would like to share with you four main conclusions which are the
    outcome of our discussions and which are reflected in the joint
    declaration which we have just signed. First of all, we've inaugurated a
    new phase, a new stage in the relations among our countries. We attach a
    very special importance to this alliance. It reflects a new visional
    mood, a more optimistic one, a more mature one, and a more propositional
    one. And it also demonstrates the existence of a shared agenda, the
    fundamental objective of which is the well-being of our peoples through
    the consolidation of economies which are more and more open and
    integrated. And we have ratified this will.
        Secondly, we wish to emphasize the brotherly spirit, the friendship
    and the understanding which have prevailed in our discussion of topics
    which we knew were sensitive and complex. We have made a special effort
    to reach agreements, to compromise and to understand the realities which
    our Governments face. Beyond those realities, we found a will to work
    together, and we have opened areas for this dialog to continue and for
    our collective action.
        Third, we underlined the importance of having maintained, as a
    constant concern of this meeting, the social issues, the importance of
    which for Latin America and for our region is more vital today than ever
    before. We share a special concern with the more needy, a concern which
    reflects solidarity, not charity, as a means to generate opportunities
    for productive employment and to ensure the dignified life which our
    peoples demand.

    [[Page 567]]

        I especially wish to recognize the contribution of women to the
    developing of economic democracy and how urgent it is to guarantee
    nondiscriminatory treatment for them in the workplaces, in political
    life, and in social relations generally. All this should have a
    significant impact in the improvement of the quality of life of the
    coming generations.
        Finally, we wish to stress the significant role which environmental
    issues continue to have on our agenda. We have deepened and expanded the
    scope of the joint declaration of Central America and the United States,
    CONCAUSA, and in doing so, we have helped our region move even further
    forward as one of those regions which are noted throughout the world for
    their commitment to the rational use and intelligent use of our natural
    resources. In this regard, we can state that the decisions we've adopted
    in this field in this declaration can be characterized as revolutionary
    at a hemispherical level.
        An essential element to attain institutional strengthening and to
    ensure good governance of our countries has to do with the possibility
    of expanding our markets and stimulating investments which generate
    employment and improve the quality of life. I believe that with respect
    to both topics, free trade and investment, we have moved forward in an
    impressive manner in attaining a better understanding and in acceptance
    that reciprocity should be the new byword in the establishment of all
    our discussions.
        Ladies and gentlemen, the President and the Prime Minister of Belize
    and the Dominican Republic would like to make a special mention to the
    democratic circumstance that prevails in all the region: We are
    committed to strengthen and perfecting it.
        We are aware that, at the threshold of the 21st century, it is not
    enough to guarantee access to free, fair, and transparent elections for
    our citizens. Threatened by formidable enemies such as narcotrafficking
    and organized crime, it is indispensable to fortify democratic
    institutions and to ensure ways in which civil society can participate
    more effectively in the decisionmaking process.
        Nonetheless, it is through the development of dynamic economies and
    more equitable social structures that we will be able to fully grasp the
    benefits of democratic governance. To this regard, we are convinced that
    one indispensable element to ensure such democratic governance has to do
    with the possibility to expand our markets and, with it, stimulate
    investments that generate employment and improve the quality of life of
    our populations.
        Both issues, trade and investment, were positively reinforced during
    our meeting with President Clinton, and we would like to emphasize our
    satisfaction as the new criteria that will guide our next steps towards
    the construction of free-trade zones in the Americas.
        In closing, let me emphasize the warmth of this meeting. You,
    President Clinton, with your insight and your thoughtfulness, have come
    to Central America and with our friends from the Dominican Republic have
    given a new dimension to our relations. We all came here with high
    expectations, We had the opportunity to share our thoughts but express
    the feelings of our hearts. And we all part full of optimism, ready to
    continue our work, work that is circumscribed by the need we all have to
    continue bettering the conditions of living of our people.
        Thank you very much.
        President Clinton. President Figueres has given an excellent
    statement. I will just make a few brief comments. First of all, I know I
    speak for all of us who are guests here in thanking the President and
    the people of Costa Rica for their warmth and hospitality.
        This is truly a new day for Central America. The transition from
    conflict to cooperation has changed the relationship among the Central
    American countries and between the United States and Central America. A
    decade ago, we focused on civil wars. Now, together, we are fighting
    against poverty and fighting for prosperity, stronger democracy, and the
    sustainable development of our precious resources.
        It is this new reality, this new agenda that we share which brings
    us here to San Jose for the first summit meeting between the leaders of
    the United States, Central America, and the Dominican Republic in 30
    years. The people of Central America have chosen peace and democracy. We
    must help them to prove that they made the right choice, that democracy
    delivers.
        Today, we agreed to an intensified ongoing dialog between the United
    States, Central America, and the Dominican Republic to work together on
    issues that will make a real difference to the lives of all our people
    with a high level, follow-on structure to make sure that our commitments
    are realized.

    [[Page 568]]

        Together we looked at ways to strengthen our democracies and to
    combat the drugs, crime, and corruption that threaten to undermine them.
    I'm encouraged by the growing cooperation among Central American law
    enforcement authorities, including the creation of a joint center for
    police studies in El Salvador. To advance it further, the United States
    plans to establish an international law enforcement academy in Latin
    America by the end of this year, modeled on our successful academy in
    Budapest. We also agreed to modernize extradition treaties and to apply
    them vigorously. Those who commit a crime in one nation in our region
    should know that they will have no place to run and hide elsewhere in
    the region.
        We took important steps to broaden the benefits of open and
    competitive trade. Our trade with Central America exceeded $20 billion
    last year. That is a 120-percent increase since 1990. This dramatic
    increase is the direct result of the progress the nations of this region
    have made toward improving their economies and opening their markets.
        To identify concrete actions we can take to expand commerce even
    more, and to explore ways to move toward our common goal of a free trade
    area of the Americas by 2005, we created a ministerial level trade and
    investment council.
        The open skies agreement we signed today--the first in our
    hemisphere--are a powerful example of how we can move forward together.
    They will allow our air carriers greater freedom to increase passenger
    and cargo services, to lower prices for travelers and shippers, and
    literally to bring the Americas closer together.
        Today, we also agreed that our labor ministers will meet later this
    year to exchange ideas on promoting respect for worker rights and
    improving working conditions. And we discussed the issue of immigration.
    I'm proud that the United States has a tradition of generous legal
    immigration. Last year, over 900,000 people legally immigrated to the
    United States. I will do what I can to preserve it because I believe
    America's diversity is one of our greatest strengths as we move into a
    new century in an increasingly global society.
        But to maintain that tradition and to do what is right by people who
    immigrate to the United States legally, it is also necessary that we be
    more effective in stopping illegal immigration. Our new immigration law
    is designed to accomplish that objective. I appreciate the decision by
    several Central American nations to criminalize the terrible practice of
    alien smuggling, which is also a scourge to all of us.
        I do want you to know that enforcing our laws, I am determined to
    balance the need for firm controls against illegal immigration with
    common sense and compassion. Our country has greatly benefitted from the
    talents and the energies of Central Americans who came to our shores
    because they were fleeing civil war. Today, the remarkable progress in
    that region means that many can return home. But we want that to occur
    in a manner which avoids destabilizing the nations and the economies of
    Central America, or creating enormous hardships for children and
    families.
        There will be no mass deportations and no targeting of Central
    Americans under this law. I am working with Congress to implement the
    new law so that it does not produce these unintended results.
        Finally, we explored ideas to make a good education the birthright
    of every child in this region. We agreed that education should be a
    centerpiece of next year's Summit of the Americas in Santiago, for which
    today's summit is an important building block.
        This has been a full and a productive session. Again, let me thank
    my colleagues for the passion and the depth of commitment they bring to
    this enterprise, and to our shared vision for a new partnership between
    the United States and Central America on the brink of a new century.
    Thank you very much.

    Extradition Policy and NAFTA Membership

        Q. Good afternoon. Thank you very much, Mr. President. I have two
    questions. For you, Mr. President Figueres, I'd like to know, within the
    declaration, in the chapter on strengthening democracy and good
    governance, I'd like to know what should be understood in the paragraph
    that says that we take on the commitment to update our extradition
    treaty and apply it vigorously to make sure that criminals are taken to
    justice, where the effects of their crime are felt more severely.
        If we are dealing here with a paragraph that is somehow suggesting
    for the future any possibility of extraditing our citizens--
    [inaudible]--that the Central American contingency meet in order to be
    considered by your country to be

    [[Page 569]]

    part of the free trade agreement and if so, if we are, after Chile, the
    next one--[inaudible].
        President Clinton. I was listening--[inaudible]--you started talking
    in Spanish.
        Q. Okay, so here again. My question is--[inaudible]--[laughter].
        President Clinton. It's been a long day. [Laughter]
        Q. Thank you. What do you think the conditions that Central American
    countries should meet in order to be considered by your country to be
    part of the Free Trade Agreement, and if we do meet those requirements,
    are we the next after Chile? Thank you.
        President Figueres. The biggest--[inaudible]--is that respecting our
    constitutions and the independence of the branches of government in our
    countries, the judiciary and the legislative. We will continue
    cooperating in these areas which have to do with ensuring citizen
    security. And in accordance with our responsibility as Presidents with
    respect to our population, I think we should work out together combating
    drug trafficking, money laundering, and these modern scourges which have
    been developing in our societies and which can only cause harm to our
    societies.
        This is a reaffirmation of our will to continue working in that
    direction, with respect to our constitutions and to our legal
    provisions. We are all states under the rule of law, fortunately.
        President Clinton. I would like to make one comment about that from
    the point of view of the United States. We do not believe that our
    sovereignty is undermined by extraditing people through our countries as
    long as they follow the same rules with us, so that we both respect each
    other's criminal justice system.
        Now, let me answer your question. First of all, I believe that the
    nations of Central America have already gone a long way toward becoming
    part of a free-trade area by embracing democracy, open markets, and
    committing themselves to expanded trade, and committing themselves to
    increasing international cooperation. After all, we have the President
    of the Inter-American Development Bank here, we have the Secretary
    General of the OAS here. We are all working together more. We are
    committed already, the United States is, to working with all the nations
    that are here present to establish a free-trade area of the Americas by
    2005, which is not so very far away.
        Now, in between now and then, can we do more to have reciprocal open
    trade with the Central American countries? I believe we can, and I have
    agreed to two steps. The first is that we have set up a ministerial
    trade and investment council here, as a result of this communique, to
    identify what the next concrete steps are. But, before that, I have
    proposed in my budget an expansion of the Caribbean Basin Initiative,
    and I have funded it over the next 5 years, which would permit us to
    reduce or eliminate tariffs on a large number of other items coming from
    Central America that would further deepen our trade relations.
        So, I'm strongly supportive of it. I think the big steps have
    already been taken. The next steps are subject to agreement by our trade
    negotiators and people who are concerned about investment. And they can
    be worked out if we stay on the path we're on.
        Terry [Terence Hunt, Associated Press]

    Central America-U.S. Relations

        Q. Mr. President, some of the leaders here today and some other
    prominent Central American figures have complained in recent days that
    the United States pays attention to this region only in times of war and
    in times of natural disaster. Do you think that that has been a valid
    criticism?
        And to President Figueres, what, if anything, has President Clinton
    said today that makes you think that that attitude would change?
        President Clinton. Well, first of all, I think there is some
    validity to that criticism--that is, I think there are some sectors of
    our society that may have been more interested in Central America when
    it was a battleground in the cold war or when it could at least be
    interpreted to have been a battleground in the cold war. But I don't
    think it's a fair characterization of America as a whole or of the
    attitude of this administration.
        After all, we convened the Summit of the Americas including all the
    democratically elected leaders of Central America and the Caribbean and
    the rest of Latin America in 1994. We have worked diligently since then
    in meeting with and working with various leaders in this area. We have
    worked for the cause of peace in Central America and applauded it when
    it prevailed.
        And this meeting here, which as I said, is the first time since 1968
    when President Johnson met with the leaders of Central America,

    [[Page 570]]

    the Dominican Republic that such a meeting has occurred, and this one
    has a different agenda. This is designed to send the message that we
    believe it is in the interest of the United States and the people of the
    United States, as well as the right thing to do, to have an economic and
    a political partnership with Central America as we move into the new
    century.
        President Figueres. I--[inaudible]--to this meeting with a
    completely different perspective of what our relationship should be. The
    old relationship that we have had in the past is no longer the one that
    can most benefit us in the world of a globalized economy. And today, we
    have all come as true partners to share the responsibilities of our
    development and to look for common paths through which we can develop.
    Central America today, fully democratic and in peace, is willing to pull
    its own weight, and we are perfectly well aware of the responsibilities
    in that respect that we have as leaders of our nations. This is truly
    the beginning of a great new partnership.
        Q. Good afternoon, Presidents. For President Clinton. The countries
    of Central America have been complaining--complaining that the United
    States has abandoned Central America lately. Aside from progressively,
    steadily liberalizing trade, in what other way could the United States
    help the people of Central America--for meetings such as this not be
    considered as social events with rather rhetorical results that have
    nothing to do with reality?
        President Clinton. Well, I think there are lots of specific ways we
    can work with Central America apart from trade, and I mentioned one in
    my remarks. We intend to establish a law enforcement academy in Latin
    America that will serve the people of Central America in helping them to
    develop professional police forces that are effective and respects human
    rights and effective judicial systems.
        We did this in Central Europe, with one in Budapest, and we have
    worked with a lot of former communist countries in the area of law
    enforcement cooperation in a way that has been extraordinarily well
    received there, and I believe will be here.
        Last night when President Figueres and I had a chance to meet, and
    again today in our larger meeting, I reaffirmed our willingness to work
    with countries of Central America to help to expand educational
    opportunities and to bring the benefits of educational technology to all
    students. And I think there are great opportunities there. I think there
    are enormous opportunities for us to cooperate in the environmental
    areas in ways that will be helpful to the long-term stability of the
    nations that are represented here.
        So those are just three areas in which I expect there to be
    significantly increased cooperation in the years ahead. In addition to
    that, as you know, we still have some modest aid programs. The Peace
    Corps is active in many of these nations, doing very constructive
    things. So I expect that there will be other things which will be done
    in the years ahead.
        Keep in mind, the United States has finally voted for the first time
    since 1969--at least we have an agreement with the leaders of the
    Congress--to balance our budget. And that will permit us the freedom and
    the economic stability, I think, to be a better partner with our
    neighbors in a whole range of other areas. But the most important thing
    is for you to prove that your economy will work. And I think the plan
    we're following will enable you to do that.
        Paul [Paul Basken, United Press International].

    Immigration Law

        Q. Mr. President, Central American leaders before this meeting were
    saying the new U.S. immigration laws are causing major economic and
    political headaches. A State Department official was quoted today as
    saying that, given the situation in Congress, all you have been able to
    offer them today was ``words and promises and hot air.'' Did that turn
    out to be true, and what do you realistically expect to get from
    Congress on immigration between now and the date of September 30th, set
    out in the statement today?
        And, for President Figueres, if you could, are the Central American
    leaders overreacting to the situation?
        President Clinton. Well, first of all, let's describe what the
    situation is. There are a lot of immigrants living in the United States
    from the countries that are represented here today who came to the
    United States primarily because of upheaval caused in their countries
    during wars. Some of those immigrants are there legally, but not as
    legal immigrants. That is, there is a separate category of our
    immigration law which says if you're, in effect, fleeing political
    disruption in your own country, you can stay in our country but you
    don't become a legal

    [[Page 571]]

    immigrant with the right to apply for citizenship after 5 years. But
    many of them have been there quite a long while. Some of them are not
    legal under that status but they've been there quite a long while, and
    they did come because of the political upheaval.
        There are two real problems with just shipping all of them up and
    sending them home, aside from the practical problems of whether it can
    be done or not. One is that a lot of them have been in the United States
    so long that they have families there, they have children in school,
    they have lives that are intertwined with their communities. And it
    would be significantly disruptive and unfair to the families and the
    children.
        The other is that a lot of--such a dislocation would rob a lot of
    these countries of cash remittances that a lot of these folks are
    sending back home to their families which take the place of a lot of
    foreign aid or domestic economic activity in keeping the country going.
    And also, that level of influx would destabilize them.
        So I think it's fair to say that everyone who studied this
    understands that the Central American countries--a number of them are in
    a very special category when it comes to dealing with the immigration
    laws.
        The immigration law that we passed was designed to help us stop
    illegal immigration at the border, in the workplace, and in the court
    system. And it will achieve that. But we have to implement it in a way
    that is humane and recognizes the special problems created here.
        So what I have said is that, number one, for the immigrants that are
    there legally, but not as legal immigrants--that is, they're in the
    category of people fleeing political problems at home--the law says that
    I can only exempt 4,000 people from being sent back to their countries.
    I will not trigger that law until September, the end of September,
    during which time I will work with Congress to try to figure out how to
    implement it.
        As to people who are generally not in America legally, there will be
    no mass deportations and no targeting of any citizens from any country.
    They will have to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
        And again, I will say, I'm not so sure, as whoever your anonymous
    source was, that the Congress will be unwilling to recognize the fact
    that these Central American countries are in a rather special category.
    After all, the United States Government was heavily involved with a lot
    of these countries during the time of all this upheaval. And just as we
    were quite generous--and we should have been--in welcoming Vietnamese
    people to our shores after the termination of our involvement in
    Vietnam, where our country did not prevail, in these nations where
    democracy has prevailed and we want to work with them to succeed, it
    seems to me we ought to be sensitive to the disruptions that were caused
    during those tough years that we were involved in as a nation. So I'm
    not so sure we can't get some treatments.
        But the law itself, I want to say, as I said in Mexico, it's a good
    thing that we try to stop illegal immigration because if we don't, we
    won't be able to keep the American people in support of legal
    immigration. So we have to stop it as much as we can. But we have to
    understand, these Central American countries are in a different category
    because of what they went through in the 1980s.
        President Figueres. I feel that we have advanced a lot on this
    subject, which is certainly important to the Central American nations
    for many of the reasons that President Clinton has just mentioned. But
    on this issue of immigration, your question was, has there been an
    overreaction in Central America. I don't believe that there has been an
    overreaction, and I believe that we have achieved substantial progress.
        If I may, on that, I would like to call perhaps on President Armando
    Calderon Sol, because he is really the one that, in terms of Central
    America, with President Arnoldo Aleman, led the conversation.
        President Calderon.  I would just like to add that, for us, this new
    relationship that we have begun between Central America and the United
    States, at the time of President Clinton's visit is profoundly
    significant. It represents a recognition by the United States, a
    recognition of the contribution that our people make to their economy, a
    recognition of the human drama that our people are experiencing in the
    United States because of what happens here, because this was the theater
    of operations of the cold war, here in Central America, to hear this
    from the President of the United States and to hear the profoundly
    humane position that he adopts when he looks at the people which have
    had so much pain, for us is very encouraging. And he has stated very
    clearly that there will not be mass deportations, that they will seek to
    work more

    [[Page 572]]

    flexibly with the new immigration law, that there is time from now until
    September for a joint initiative with the Congress and to awaken more
    awareness within the Congress concerning this issue which is so
    important for Central America.
        Today is a very important day, a day of great hope for all Central
    Americans who, because of some of the tragic conditions of violence, had
    to leave to seek new shores, to find refuge in the United States.
        President Figueres. One last question.

    Central America-U.S. Trade

        Q. Thank you, Mr. President. The question first for President
    Figueres, don't you think there's very little scope in having the
    support of the U.S. Government for a draft that would provide to expand
    the benefits of the Caribbean Basin Initiative when the countries of the
    region would like to have something more specific than that before the
    year 2005?
        And President Clinton, don't you think that mere support of good
    will for a draft is actually a very small guarantee for the Central
    American countries when there is a Congress which is actually against
    anything that has to do with free trade or unions or even the Democrats,
    themselves?
        President Figueres. With respect to trade, I feel that we have made
    major progress. These countries have benefitted from the Caribbean Basin
    Initiative for a number of years now. And this program is the basis on
    which we have been able to expand our exports from the entire region
    into traditional markets and also into new markets.
        The program that the executive branch of the United States is
    submitting to the Congress differs from the situation of the past. It
    contains funds to be able to counteract the loss of tariff income, which
    would mean expanding the list of products and the exemptions for many of
    the products coming from this region.
        Moreover, I think it is vitally important that we have agreed here
    to ask our ministers, the ministers who are involved in foreign trade,
    to task them with finding new ways, new creative ways to continue
    working together as a region with an eye to the year 2005, the date for
    which our continent plans to integrate. So the idea would be that we
    could advance even more in the field of trade before that date comes.
        With respect to trade, Laura [Laura Martinez, Television 7, Costa
    Rica], we need to stress investment. I think this meeting, this summit
    meeting, in many ways, is a stamp of approval for the profound reforms
    that have been led by the Presidents of the area in the different
    countries. Today, the economies are much more open and much more
    competitive. They are true democracies and, of course, this opens up our
    doors to greater flows of investment. And ultimately, this is the way
    for us to integrate better.
        President Clinton. I would like to try to respond to your question
    with two points. First of all, this is not a--from our point of view--a
    vague commitment. I think you should see this in three steps--the
    question of how we might expand our trade between the United States and
    Central American countries.
        Number one, I have presented a budget to the Congress which, if the
    Congress will go along, provides for the reduction of tariffs over the
    next 5 years on a lot of other goods which would increase trade with
    both Central America and the Caribbean. It is fully paid for in my
    budget. And therefore, I think we will have--we have some chance of
    passing it, perhaps a good chance. And I certainly intend to fight hard
    for it. So there's that step.
        Then the second step is that we have agreed to bring our trade and
    investment ministers together to identify what we do after that, what
    more can we do. Then the third step is adopting the free-trade area of
    the Americas by 2005.
        I know 2005 sounds like a long time away, especially if you're very
    young, but it's not so very long. And if you think about what will then
    be a trading area of over a billion people, it is a stunning achievement
    if we can pull it off. So I am not excluding the possibility that we can
    do more than expand the Caribbean Basin Initiative, nor am I taking for
    granted that it will be done, but that is the three-step process I see.
        Now, the larger point you made is that the Congress of the United
    States is opposed to free trade. That may not be true. There are strong
    opponents of expanded trade in the Congress, but there are also very
    strong supporters. Some people are just against trade because they think
    it gives the United States a bad deal. I think the evidence is squarely
    against them. The more we open our markets, the better our economy does.
    And we have wages going up for the first time in 20 years, and last
    year, more than half the new jobs, for the first time in many years,
    coming into our economy were

    [[Page 573]]

    above average wage. So trade is good for us, not bad.
        Secondly, we can get a lot of people in my party--you mentioned my
    party specifically--we can get a lot of people in my party to vote for a
    fast-track authority if our trading partners will give serious attention
    to the question of making sure that all people in our country get to
    participate in the benefits of expanded trade and wealth. That's why I
    have advocated that we set up a labor forum to go with the business
    forum that will meet as we work toward a free-trade area of the
    Americas. The more Americans believe that all ordinary working people in
    other countries will benefit from expanded trade, the more likely we are
    to find support for it in the Congress.
        Yes, ma'am.
        Q. Thank you, Mr. President. I have a question for you and one
    question for the Presidents of Central America. Regionally, Central
    America was looking for NAFTA parity, and then later they changed
    things, that they preferred to have a free trade agreement. Given the
    sentiments in Congress, what do you personally believe is the best
    venue, the most effective to get that free trade agreement? And also,
    when do you expect to have a fast-track authority with Congress?
        And also, for the Presidents of Central America--President Figueres
    or any of the other Presidents that you are going to seek an amnesty
    with regard to immigration. I don't know if you asked for that amnesty
    of President Clinton, and if so, what was his response?
        President Clinton. Let me answer your question quite succinctly. I
    think the best course is for me first to try to pass my budget which
    contains an expansion of the Caribbean Basin Initiative; and second, to
    try to pass fast-track authority in the Congress this year, which I
    fully intend to do my best to do. We're going to work very hard on that.
    And at the same time, then, to consult with leaders of the Congress in
    both parties who favor this approach about what they believe the best
    way to proceed is, because we're all going to have to work together on
    this.
        While we're consulting with Congress, there will be this meeting of
    our ministers, all of our ministers, identifying what they think the
    next step should be to continue to expand trade. So I think that our
    road map is quite clear, and that is the one I intend to pursue.
        President Figueres. With respect to the question of immigration, it
    has already been covered by Armando Calderon Sol, but I would like to go
    back to your question with respect--that, first, Central America wanted
    parity an then later on began to look for other ways to acquire more
    investment and how do we think is the best. Don Alvaro Arzu discussed
    this issue extensively this morning in the forum, and I would like to
    invite him to answer your question.
        President Arzu. Thank you. What we have stressed and tried to
    demonstrate is that the region of Central America is prepared, is ready.
    It's no longer time for us to be reaching out our hands to ask for
    support, although we are grateful for the support we have received. But
    instead, we have a desire for a more longstanding, a more permanent
    relationship of partnership, and more than that, we want a free trade
    agreement. This is our aspiration.
        We need to follow certain parameters, which are requirements, with
    Congress for example; also with public opinion, the press--[inaudible]--
    in communication. But what we mostly want to tell the American union is
    that we are ready. In Central America, we are ready to compete. We are
    ready to receive investment. We are ready to generate production. And we
    are ready to diversify the results and the profits that we attract among
    the large mass of impoverished people in our region in order to begin
    shrinking the very profound socioeconomic gap that we still have. So we
    want to go beyond that, and I think we can do it.
        Thank you.
        President Figueres. Thank you. This concludes the press conference.

    Note: The President's 144th news conference began at 1:20 p.m. at the
    National Theater. President Jose Figueres of Costa Rica spoke in Spanish
    and English, and his Spanish remarks were translated by an interpreter.
    President Armando Calderon of El Salvador and President Alvaro Arzu of
    Guatemala spoke in Spanish, and their remarks were translated by an
    interpreter. In his remarks, President Clinton referred to Inter-
    American Development Bank President Enrique V. Iglesias and Organization
    of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria.

    [[Page 574]]