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Strategies & Market Trends : World Outlook -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn Norman who wrote (717)	1/9/2000 6:37:00 PM
From: Glenn Norman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 48980

Zedillo says Mexico has put peso crisis behind it Reuters Story - January 09, 2000 14:18 MEXICO CITY, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo said on Sunday the country had finally left the 1994-95 peso crisis behind and would strive to strengthen the foundations of democracy ahead of July presidential elections. Addressing the nation in a New Year's speech, Zedillo said Mexico still had some distance to go to shore up its economy and vanquish poverty but was on the right track, five years after the December 1994 peso devaluation plunged it into a deep, prolonged recession. "Together we have managed to overcome the serious economic situation we were confronted with at the start of the sexenio (six-year presidential term) and together we have built a healthy and strong economy," the Mexican leader said. Zedillo, whose Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), in power since 1929, faces one of its toughest contests ever in July, urged citizens to vote in this year's presidential polls. "We Mexicans are living in full democracy and this year we will strengthen it through our participation (in the ballot)," he said. He reiterated his assurance that his government would not tamper with the results and would treat opposition parties with respect, and called on the candidates to formulate honest and precise electoral proposals. "The government will take care that a climate of liberty, observance of the law, security and tolerance prevails (and) ... will practice and promote civility and ensure public resources are not used for electoral purposes," he said. "Popular will shall be the only thing that decides the outcome of the elections in 2000." Opposition parties have denounced massive vote-buying in state gubernatorial elections during the past two years and election experts say they face a tough task overcoming the PRI's powerful vote-harvesting machinery. Nevertheless, the PRI now faces growing challenges, in particular from the left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which since 1997 has run Mexico City, and the conservative National Action Party (PAN), which holds several governorships. Together, the two opposition parties have had a majority in the lower house of Congress since 1997. The July elections are widely regarded as the toughest challenge faced by the PRI in its 70-year reign, although PRI candidate Francisco Labastida is viewed as the front-runner. Zedillo, whose term ends in December, began his presidency with an overvalued peso and a mountain of dollar-linked debt. Shortly after taking power, he was forced to devalue, sending interest rates into the stratosphere and plunging Mexico into its worse economic recession since the Depression. The economy rebounded last year and grew at just under 4.0 percent, one of Latin America's fastest rates of expansion. Inflation also came down to levels before the 1994-95 peso crisis, registering 12.32 percent. One engine of economic growth was the United States, with which Mexico has been umbilically linked through the North American Free Trade Agreement since 1994. However, official figures show a third of Mexico's 98 million people still live mired deep poverty. "Certainly we still have some way to go, but we are moving in the right direction and have already advanced a lot," Zedillo said.