[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 18 (Monday, May 9, 1994)]
[Pages 996-997]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Cinco de Mayo Celebration

May 5, 1994

    The President. Thank you very much. Ambassador and Mrs. Montano, 
thank you for welcoming me here at this magnificent building, and thank 
all of you for coming and giving me a chance to celebrate Cinco de Mayo 
with you. I want to recognize here the Secretary of Transportation, 
Federico Pena, and thank him for all of his work; three of my able White 
House aides, Joe Valasquez, Suzanna Valdez, and Grace Garcia. And I want 
to say a word about the Members of Congress who are not here, 
apparently. They're still voting--[laughter]--but that is, in some ways, 
our fault. We staged a great fight today in the House of Representatives 
to pass the assault weapons ban. So they are a couple of hours behind 
schedule, but it's because they did the work of America tonight, and I'm 
very grateful to them.
    It's an honor for me to be here to celebrate on this holiday 
Mexico's unity and national sovereignty. The Hispanic community, 
Mexicans and 13 million Mexican-Americans who live here in our Nation 
have every reason to mark this day with great pride.
    With the implementation of NAFTA, the friendship between our two 
nations has grown even closer. Our cooperation is also critical to 
strengthening democracy in this hemisphere. Sometimes in the pursuit of 
that great goal of democracy, we encounter tragedy. We have known it in 
our own country, and we here shared your profound sadness over the 
assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio last March.
    But Mexico's response to this loss, in my judgment, showed its 
resilience, its courage, its determination, its true patriotism. These 
are qualities which can inspire the world and can strengthen democracy 
even in adversity. The United States is committed to standing with you.
    Immediately after hearing of the tragic assassination, the Secretary 
of the Treasury and I talked very late at night, and we committed to 
establishing a multibillion-dollar contingency fund to help to stabilize 
the financial markets until people were able to deal with the 
consequences of these tragedies.
    I have profound confidence in the strength of Mexico's political 
institutions and its leadership, and in the bright prospects for the 
Mexican economy. I think Mexico can overcome any setbacks and any 
tragedy. And on August the 21st, I believe that Mexico will hold full, 
free, and fair elections.
    I also want to say that all of you know our cooperation is terribly 
important for what we can do together economically and for what that can 
mean for all of Latin America. The North American Free Trade Agreement 
is a fine example of how we must go forward together. In a time when 
nations face crucial choices all around the world, we can be proud that, 
together, we made the right choice in going forward with NAFTA. I want 
to say again tonight how much I appreciate President Salinas in his 
unswerving support of the agreement. The implementation, I can report to 
you, is proceeding smoothly. And we are committed to continuing that 
cooperation.
    Next week, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, our HUD 
Secretary Henry Cisneros, our EPA Administrator Carol Browner all will 
visit Mexico City to meet with their counterparts to discuss the issues 
that we can work together on. And in December, I will convene in Miami a 
Summit of the Americas where democratically elected leaders of 33 
nations will come together to discuss our common goals. You think of it: 
Every nation in this hemisphere, save two, tonight is governed by a 
democratically elected leader, and one of those two had a democratic 
election in which the leader was ousted. That is an astonishing record. 
No hemisphere can claim to do so well in the pursuit of democracy.

[[Page 997]]

    Benito Juarez once said, ``The respect for other's rights means 
peace.'' We in the United States believe if we can promote democracy 
around the world, there will be more peace. There will be more 
opportunity to make agreements. There will be more reliability. There 
will be less war, less turmoil, and less hatred. Not the end of 
problems, not the end of conflict, but the promise of working through 
them, that is the promise that we see fulfilled today in the wonderful 
relationships between the United States and Mexico, a genuine 
partnership among equals, striving for the future in the best way we 
know how. That is worth celebrating on this Cinco de Mayo.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 7:45 p.m. at the Mexican Cultural 
Institute. In his remarks, he referred to Ambassador Jorge Montano and 
his wife Luz Maria Valdez de Montano. A tape was not available for 
verification of the content of these remarks.