High hopes remain intact
AS THE FIRST HEAD OF STATE TO BE VISITED BY U.S. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH, AND A FORMER COCA-COLA EXECUTIVE TO BOOT, MEXICAN PRESIDENT VICENTE FOX HAS MADE NO SECRET OF HIS DESIRE TO COURT U.S. INVESTMENT WHILE COMBATING POVERTY AND FURTHER BRINGING DOWN THE COUNTRY'S ONCE RAMPANT INFLATION

A LITTLE OVER a year after voters gave him a mandate to set the country on a new political course that many felt was long overdue, the Mexican people continue to give President Vicente Fox Quesada plenty of credit for his good intentions, even though some might judge him more severely on his success at putting them into practice. But this has not altered his determination to set in motion a process that will bring about fundamental changes in the kind of nation Mexico is and wants to be.

“The biggest change we have seen to date is in the people's mindset,” Mr. Fox said recently. “There is far more hope, enthusiasm and team spirit, in the sense that we are all working and building together. There is so much positive energy flowing through the system that we just have to make the most of it.”
The nation’s GDP grew by 6.9 percent in 2000, while inflation was held to 8.9%, its lowest rate in years. Foreign direct investment totaled US$13 billion, up in the year by 14% for a seventh consecutive year of double-digit growth. In 2000, exports increased by a remarkable 22%, making Mexico the world’s eighth-ranking exporter. Goods sold abroad brought in revenues totaling some US$166 billion, or more than all of South America's exports put together.

But there is still room to improve Mexico's on-the-ground realities. Serious law and order issues, four in every ten citizens living in poverty and a system of corruption and entrenched patronage a legacy of the seven decades during which a single party maintained a tight grasp on all the levers of power until it was turned out of office last year.
And as no party got a majority in congress, the legislature, along with the labor unions and other sectors, has not always been pulling in the same direction as the president. Lower prices for oil, Mexico's chief revenue earner, has darkened the economic horizon in the short term, as has the slowdown in the United States, which takes 85 percent of everything Mexico exports. "We should all pray to the Virgin of Guadalupe (Mexico's patron saint) for a quick U.S. recovery," says Mr. Fox, only half in jest. Mexico's ambassador in Washington, Juan Bremer, sees the current situation more in terms of a challenge than a catastrophe.

"The remarkable thing is that in the midst of such a difficult international environment, Mexico still has growth expectations for this year of 2.5 to 3%." That, Mr. Bremer suggests, is due mainly to two factors. "Markets have shown their faith in the fundamentals underlying the economy and especially in the new political landscape. And the network of free trade agreements has allowed us to diversify our foreign markets."
A more cautiously optimistic note is struck by Humberto Bañuelos, president of the influential brokers association AMIB (Asociación Mexicana de Intermediarios Bursátiles). “If we can keep the economy stable for another year and gain enough time to push some changes through the legislature, by this time next year we will be seeing a whole new ball game.”

That message is also, in essence, the one President Fox would like to convey to Mexico's friends abroad. “Our main problems are the unequal distribution of wealth and high levels of poverty. Our fundamental goal is to transform Mexico into a truly modern country, free of corruption, under the rule of law and with equal justice and equal opportunity for all. To become a successful country, one that can take its place among the nations of the world that are shaping the future of the humanity.”