    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [February 15, 1999]
    [Pages 192-194]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to Business Leaders in Merida
    February 15, 1999

        Mr. President, Mrs. Zedillo, distinguished Mexican officials, members of the Mexican
    Congress, the Governor and First
    Lady of Yucatan, the mayor and the people of Merida: Let me begin by thanking all
    of you for the wonderful reception you have given to me and to Hillary,
    to the members of our Cabinet, the Members of Congress, our entire
    American delegation.
        Hillary and I came to Mexico 24 years ago for what I believe you
    call our luna de miel, our honeymoon. And your country has been close to
    our hearts ever since. I want to especially thank President
    Zedillo for joining me in building the
    closest, most candid, most comprehensive relationship in the long
    history of our two nations.
        Merida faces the Caribbean and the interior. It looks north and
    south. It combines Old World architecture with a thriving indigenous
    culture. In many ways, therefore, this city symbolizes the new,
    inclusive community of the Americas, a community of shared values and
    genuine cooperation. I thank the Members of the American Congress of
    both parties whose presence here with me today is evidence of America's
    commitment to the common future we will make together.
        Nothing better symbolizes the sea change in our sense of hemispheric
    community than the partnership between the United States and Mexico. Not
    so long ago, the great Mexican writer Octavio Paz said, ``The North
    Americans are outstanding in the art of the monolog.'' I'm glad to say
    we have turned the monolog into a dialog--a dialog of mutual respect and
    interdependence. Today, we speak with each other, not at each other.
    From different starting points, our courses are converging in our common
    commitment to democracy and in the absolute certainty that we will share
    the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
        We honor President Zedillo and all the
    people of Mexico for the steps you have taken and are taking to deepen
    your democracy. Now, as your people deliver their votes for democracy,
    we must all do what we can to make sure democracy delivers for them, for
    democracy will only endure if we can build the quality of life it
    promises.
        That is the challenge we are addressing here today. I start with the
    good news: As President Zedillo has said, our economic relationship is
    strong, and we are making it even stronger. Our decision to let Mexican
    and U.S. airlines engage in joint sales and marketing will generate many
    millions of dollars in new revenues, not only for the airlines but for
    the travel and investment potential of our countries. It will benefit
    especially tourism regions like the Yucatan. We also

    [[Page 193]]

    agreed today to enable the Ex-Im Bank to provide up to $4 billion to
    keep U.S. exports such as aircraft and construction equipment flowing
    into Mexico and to maintain Mexico's position as Ex-Im's top market.
        This year we celebrate 5 years since NAFTA entered into force. There
    were many doubters then. But look at the facts now: Since 1993, our
    exports to each other have roughly doubled. In the United States alone,
    a million jobs depend on this trade; that is up 43 percent since 1993.
    Of course, we still have work to do on labor, environmental, and other
    issues. But NAFTA has taught us that we have far more to gain by working
    together.
        We learned that lesson again 4 years ago when the United States was
    proud to assist Mexico in restoring confidence in the peso. President
    Zedillo acted decisively and courageously.
    The Mexican people made tough sacrifices to speed recovery. The United
    States was right to support you, and you have followed the right course.
        More recently, we all agree that our trade relationship has helped
    to insulate both countries from the global financial crisis that has
    caused such hardship elsewhere. In 1998, while U.S. exports to the
    Pacific Rim dropped 19 percent, our exports to each other went up about
    10 percent. We must expand this oasis of confidence and growth in our
    hemisphere by creating a free-trade area of the Americas. And we must
    stand by our friends in the hemisphere when they face the difficulties
    of the moment--particularly President Cardoso of Brazil, whose reforms ultimately will help the
    Brazilian people and all the rest of us as well.
        Today we did good work to deepen our partnership beyond economics.
    As the President said, we are joining together to help our Central
    American neighbors. We're improving public health along our border.
    We're working hard to protect the natural resources we share. As we
    learn more about pollution problems along the border, we're better able
    to respond to them, including through the institutions created by NAFTA.
        Today we've agreed to strengthen our cooperation in fighting forest
    fires and air pollution, in cleaning our water, and in moving against
    climate change, the greatest global environmental challenge of the next
    century.
        We have also made progress in areas today where, to be charitable,
    we have not always agreed. Not long ago, we could not have had a
    conversation about drugs without falling into an unwinnable argument
    about who is to blame. That has changed. The American people recognize
    we must reduce our demand for drugs; the Mexican people recognize that
    ending the drug trade is a national security and public health
    imperative for you.
        We can talk candidly about this now because we have started to speak
    the same language: the language of parents who love their children; the
    language of citizens who want to live in communities where streets are
    safe and laws are respected; the language of leaders who recognize that
    our responsibility is to protect our people from violence and our
    democracy from corrosion.
        In 1997 President Zedillo and I
    committed our countries to an alliance against drugs. ``Alliance'' is
    not a word to be used lightly. It means that what threatens one country
    threatens the other and that we cannot meet the threat alone. If a town
    in Mexico lives in fear of traffickers who enrich themselves by selling
    to our citizens and terrorizing Mexican citizens, that is a problem we
    have a moral duty to solve together.
        We have increased our cooperation. I welcome the plan Mexico
    announced 2 weeks ago to invest an additional $500 million in the fight
    against drugs. The United States is ready to do all we can to support
    you. I offered our support to Mexico's newly established Federal
    preventive police force. We will expand consultation on cross-border law
    enforcement. We agreed to important new benchmarks that will actually
    measure our mutual success in the war on drugs.
        We must also tackle the problem of corruption that bedevils every
    nation fighting drugs. I want to acknowledge President
    Zedillo's efforts in Mexico's interests to
    root out this scourge. Much has been said in my country about the extent
    of the problem you face. But let us not forget that what we know in
    America comes largely from Mexico's brave efforts to get to the truth
    and air it. Mexico should not be penalized for having the courage to
    confront its problems.
        Another sensitive issue that has divided us all too often is
    immigration. The United States is a nation of immigrants, built by the
    courage and optimism of those who came to our shores to begin life anew.
    We continue to accept large numbers of legal immigrants, and we continue

    [[Page 194]]

    to have our borders crossed every year by large numbers of illegal
    immigrants. As we welcome new immigrants, we must also strive to manage
    our borders. I say to you that we will do so with justice, fairness, and
    sensitivity. We will also work to promote safety and human rights at the
    border. And as we agreed today, we must work together to stop the deadly
    traffic in human beings into and through our nations.
        Ten years ago our relationship was marred by mistrust. Today, we
    recognize that any complex relationship will have its ups and downs, but
    we know our differences cannot divide us. President Zedillo and I have invested a great deal in our partnership.
    We intend to lay the groundwork for the next generation of leaders to
    follow, people who will build on the legacy all of us have worked hard
    to create. The way we approach our problems now will define how our
    successors--not just our leaders but ordinary citizens--in Mexico and
    the United States will live their lives for decades to come.
        Mexico is the largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Before
    long, the United States will be the second largest Spanish-speaking
    country in the world. Almost 15 million United States citizens trace
    their ancestry to Mexico. Twenty-eight percent of our foreign-born
    population come from here. Every year our border is legally crossed
    about 250 million times. With each crossing, we move beyond mere
    diplomacy, closer to genuine friendship, a human friendship between two
    peoples who share the same continent, the same air, the same ancestors,
    the same future.
        We are more than neighbors. More and more, we belong to the same
    American family. Like any family, we will have our differences, born of
    history, experience, instinct, honest opinion. But like any family, we
    know that what binds us together is far, far more important than what
    divides us.
        Not long after Merida was founded, a Mexican poet described the
    renewal that comes every year at this time to those who wisely till
    their fields and plant ahead, in these words: ``Here, by the Supreme
    Giver, one and all, in stintless grace and beauty, are bestowed. This is
    their dwelling. These, their native fields. And this, the tide of spring
    in Mexico.''
        This tide of spring has brought a new season of friendship between
    Mexico and the United States. President Zedillo, people of Merida and Yucatan, I wish you a happy
    Carnival. For all of us, I pray that we will reap the full harvest of
    the season. Agradezco a los Mexicanos de todo corazon. Thank you,
    Mexico.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:45 p.m. in the Teatro Peon Contreras. In
    his remarks, he referred to President Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico and his
    wife, Nilda; Gov. Victor M. Cervera of Yucatan and his wife, Amira;
    Mayor Xavier Abreu of Merida; and President Fernando Cardoso of Brazil.