[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
[April 17, 1998]
[Page 585]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Community in Casablanca, Chile
April 17, 1998

    Thank you. Mr. President, Mrs. Frei, Mr. Mayor, Senora, thank you 
all for making Hillary and me feel so welcome in this beautiful town of 
yours. I want to say a special word of appreciation to all the young 
people who came out, especially those who made the nice signs in 
English. Thank you very much.
    And I think we should give another round of applause to Los del 
Mauco for the cueca. The music was wonderful. Thank you very much. Also 
the wonderful band, Colegio Saleciano, from Valparaiso, let's give a 
hand to the band over here. [Applause]
    You know, one reason we wanted to come here is that the house in the 
United States where the President lives is called Casa Blanca. And so 
when I came here today, the mayor said to me, ``Here you're in my Casa 
Blanca and I am the boss. But when I come to visit you, you can be the 
boss in your Casa Blanca.''
    Let me say to all of you, you should be very proud of your country 
and your President, for beginning tomorrow 
Chile will host and President Frei will preside over the Summit of the 
Americas, a gathering of the 34 freely elected leaders of our 
hemisphere. And the real reason we are here is because we want you to 
know that we will do our best to discuss things and work together on 
things that will make your lives better.
    We believe that the people of Chile, the people of the United 
States, the people of all the Americas will share a common future. And 
we want it to be a future with better education for all of our children, 
better health care for all of our people, a cleaner environment in every 
nation in the Americas, and a stronger, better, freer future in which we 
are all working together.
    The United States is proud to be a partner and a friend of Chile, 
and I have enjoyed very much coming here today and seeing all of you. In 
the faces of the children, I see the future of the Americas, and I like 
what I see very much.
    Thank you very much. Muchas gracias.

Note: The President spoke at 5:22 p.m. in the town square. In his 
remarks, he referred to Mayor Manuel Vera of Casablanca. The President 
also referred to the cueca, a Chilean national dance.