http://www.yahoo.com/headlines/current/international/stories/mexico.html (Einblicke ins Internet, 10/1995)
MEXICO CITY (Reuter) - President Ernesto Zedillo promised Mexicans Friday that the threat of economic collapse was past and pledged to build a more just society free from drug traffickers and organized crime.
Conscious of Mexico's dire economic plight after a bungled devaluation last December, Zedillo made his first State of the Nation speech to Congress a sober occasion stripped of the pomp, open-air motorcades and hand-kissing of previous years.
Instead of the glorified catalog of achievements favored by his predecessors -- some of whom spoke for seven and a half hours -- a black-suited Zedillo delivered a low-key speech lasting 85 minutes and containing few punchlines.
It was mostly devoted to analyzing the economic facts and figures surrounding Mexico's disastrous 1994 slump. Unlike previous years, Mexicans were not given a public holiday to listen to the speech.
``We have surmounted the worst of the crisis and the coming years will be times of economic growth and increasing jobs,'' Zedillo said. He predicted that the economy, which shrank by a staggering 10.5 percent in the second quarter of this year, would start to grow again soon and said 1996 would be a year of ``generalized recovery.''
But mindful of two political assassinations that rocked Mexico last year and a rising tide of petty crime, Zedillo told his audience that no economic growth would be enough without guarantees of law and order.
To back up his words, he promised to create a powerful, independent federal auditor's office to oversee public spending. He also pledged bills to fight organized crime and to establish a National Public Safety System to train and professionalize Mexico's corrupt police.
``Drug trafficking has become the most serious threat to national security, our society's health and civic peace,'' Zedillo said. ``... we will continue to combat drug trafficking with all the means at our disposal.''
In keeping with his desire to slim down the all-powerful Mexican presidency, Zedillo said he would safeguard the autonomy of the Supreme Court, respect the independence of justice authorities and decentralize the Transport, Social Development and Agriculture ministries.