An Extraordinary Debate

Top advisers to Mexico's leading presidential candidates held a wide-open debate, in English, in San Diego

To better appreciate this column, imagine the following: Senior foreign advisers for U.S. presidential candidates gather to debate why their candidate is best for the office. The event is not held in the United States, but in Quebec, Canada. The questions are from a panel of French-speaking Canadian journalists. The answers must be in French. With that scenario in mind, consider what recently happened in San Diego. Top foreign advisers for the three leading Mexican presidential candidates debated, in English, why their candidate is the best choice for Mexican voters. They did so before a gathering of mostly U.S. citizens. And, the panel asking the questions were U.S. journalists. Political debates are common in the United States, but not in Mexico. As late as 1988, a presidential debate in Mexico of any kind was unheard of, let alone outside its borders. And to hear opponents of the ruling party publicly accused of everything except the sinking of the Titanic and creating El Niño, was, before 1988, very bad for the finger-pointer's health. How the San Diego debate came about is a testament to the influence of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce in Mexico. James Clark, executive director of the chamber's Pacific Chapter, proposed to the three leading candidates the idea of debates in San Diego and Los Angeles. The three candidates agreed, but were unable to schedule leaving the country themselves. So Clark suggested their top international affairs advisers be the debaters. Agreement was reached, and the not so easy task of scheduling began in earnest, with April 5 in San Diego chosen for the first one. The job of recruiting San Diego panelists went to Doug Perkins, president of Pacific Gateway Group and board member of the chamber's Pacific Chapter, and Manuel Pasero, vice president of the San Diego-Tijuana Regional Chamber. The selections were Dennis Gaddis Smith, international editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune; Graciela Sevilla, HispanicVista.com's Mexico editor; Xavier Corona, director of El Informador; and Victoria Urtasun, general manager of Radio Unica, a Spanish language radio station in San Diego. The moderator was Hector Molina, general manager of Univision, a Spanish language television station in San Diego. The principal Mexican presidential candidates are: Francisco Labastida from the PRI (the party in power since 1929) represented by Javier Treviño; Vicente Fox from the PAN (the longest official opposition party founded in 1939) represented by Carlos Salazar; and Cuauhtemoc Cardenas from the PRD (opposition party founded by Cardenas in 1990) represented by Carlos Heredia. Treviño, Salazar and Heredia are senior international affairs advisers to their respective candidates. Each representative was allowed a two-minute introduction before fielding questions. Salazar and Heredia lost no time in attacking the PRI as being ineffective, corrupt and incapable of continuing to govern Mexico. Treviño was forced to defend the PRI and insisted his was a new, reformed and very capable party and candidate, and the only one with the necessary experience to govern. Smith's question of Treviño about political corruption was answered with Labastida's personal honesty, and numerous years (36) of service in the government without one accusation of personal corruption. In rebuttal both Salazar and Heredia said, "hogwash," in so many words, claiming everyone in the PRI is corrupt by simply being a member and going along with the corruption which has kept more than half the country's population in poverty. Both Salazar and Heredia had it easier. Since neither of their parties has ever held the highest office no major record could be scrutinized or attacked. Both were able to present their ideas without fear of reproachment for past failures, In most cases, when asked a question they began with an attack on the PRI's record on the subject. To his credit, PRI's Treviño remained composed and repeatedly pointed out the ideas and programs Labastida would champion if elected. His responses, quite frankly, were overwhelmed by the torrent of attacks and accusations. For example. Labastida, in an earlier campaign speech in Mexico, said he wanted all Mexican children to learn English and have access to a computer, the Internet and e-mail. Heredia, Cardenas' representative, told Treviño that Labastida should himself learn English first, and were Mexican children to have access to e-mail, the first communications Labastida would receive would read: "We are hungry." A number of subjects were covered by the panel's questions including crime along the border, drugs, U.S.-Mexico relations, immigration, freedom of the press, NAFTA, and even absentee voting for Mexican nationals living in the United States. The 150 people attending the debate were not only present at a moment in history, but were treated to candid and revealing remarks never before heard from PRI opponents in English and in the United States. With the July 2 election looming, will 2000 be the year the PRI loses the presidency? Most experts doubt it. The party is very well organized, and has a first-class political machine throughout the country. And, even though estimates are that fully 60 percent of Mexican voters oppose the PRI, the two opposition parties have been unable to reach accord on unification for common cause. That is expected to sharply split the opposition vote, granting the PRI yet one more presidential election. Patrick Osio Jr. can be reached at posiojr@aol.com. His weekly column "Inside Mexico" appears online in HispanicVista.com.

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