| | |  News Around the Republic of Mexico | December 2008 
We Have Had Two Years of Profound Transformations: President Felipe Calderón
 Presidencia de la República
go to original
| "Instead of faltering, we have taken on the challenge of turning Mexico into a country of laws."
- President Felipe Calderón | |
At the end of the first third of his government, President Felipe Calderón declared that these have been two years of profound transformations for Mexico and stated that the current challenges have failed to reduce his sense of responsibility to the nation.
He remarked: "These profound changes will change the face of Mexico," and mentioned the Infrastructure Program, the strategy for fighting organized crime and the structural reforms undertaken: in taxes, persons, transparency regarding spending, electoral issues; the penal legal reform, the reform of Petróleos Mexicanos, and the Alliance for Educational Quality.
During the event held at the National Palace, President Felipe Calderón told members of the Legal and Expanded Cabinet as well as representatives of the various social and political sectors that the satisfaction for having fulfilled his duty will encourage him to tackle the remaining tasks in this field.
He added that at the start of the third year of the Administration, efforts should be combined to accelerate changes and transformations. Thus, he said, "In Federal Government, we will continue assuming that our mission is to transform Mexico and place it on the route to genuine sustainable human development."
He pointed out that at the beginning of the 21st generation, our generation, that of the Bicentennial, will called to transform the country, as a result of which he urged Mexicans to continue working for Mexico through dialogue, understanding and reason.
He added that in times of economic difficulty, such as those we are currently experiencing, Mexico needs everyone to be responsible, particularly political, social and economic actors, as well as their leaders, as a result of which he urged them to continue promoting dialogue, reconciliation and agreements with the various political and social actors in order to achieve a future of greater well-being for Mexicans.
The President declared that progress has been made in the five main areas of his government: Rule of Law and Security, a Competitive Economy that will Create Jobs, Equal Opportunities, Environmental Sustainability, Effective Democracy and Responsible Foreign Policy.
He declared that with the rule of law, Mexicans’ capacity to achieve sustainable human development would be permanently jeopardized. "Nowadays we are experiencing the consequences of years of indifference to the cancer of crime, impunity and corruption. This scourge became a threat to the peace and well-being of Mexican families and constitutes a challenges to the state's viability," he stated.
He explained that it would have been easier for Federal Government to close its eyes to reality, but he declared: "We didn’t and instead decided to confront it, despite the consequences. Instead of faltering, we have taken on the challenge of turning Mexico into a country of laws, To this end, we have dealt with the most urgent problems but we have also begun transforming the institutions of security and justice."
He explained that joint operations have reinforced the state's capacity to deal with organized crime.
Thus, he reported, crime-fighting has led to the arrest of 53,000 persons, including some of the most dangerous and wanted leaders and lieutenants of all the drug trafficking cartels.
"Their arrest has shown that Federal Government has not negotiated nor will it negotiate with any criminal organizations and that it will fight all those that threaten Mexicans’ lives, security and peace of mind," said President Calderón.
He added that in collaboration with local governments, the authorities have reinforced the offensive against the worst crimes against citizens, particularly kidnapping and reported that if one combines federal and local efforts, the past 100 days have seen the arrest of 272 alleged kidnappers and dismanteld 53 gangs, which is equivalent to dismantling a gang every two days.
In addition, he declared, Operation Clean-Up was implemented which has dismantled the corruption networks that operated within the state apparatus in conjunction with organized crime.
President Felipe Calderón said that Mexicans can rest assured that there will be no going back in the fight against organized crime and impunity, which is a battle will shall win and we must be united to achieve this victory more quickly.
As for the economy, the aim has been to ensure that Mexico becomes truly competitive in the global world and that its economy is capable of creating the jobs required by Mexicans, on the basis of the responsible handling of public finances.
He reported that over the past two years, the country's foreign debt has been reduced to nearly half of what it was at the beginning of the administration and that it now totals $25 billion dollars.
Today, he said, Central Bank has reserves equivalent to nearly three times foreign debt, which reflects the strength of the Mexican economy in dealing with an adverse international environment.
He said that the effort of promoting Mexico as an investment destination has translated into foreign investment of over $42 billion dollars over the past two years and that despite the international economic crisis, over 600,000 new formal jobs have been created.
The third point he mentioned is that the most important National Infrastructure Program of recent years has been implemented, meaning that million-dollar public and private investments have been made over the past two eyars.
He added that during his Administration, the federal budget for highways alone has totaled $81 billion pesos, more than three times the budget for the first two years of the previous administration, meaning that in 2008, more miles of highway were built, modernized or restored that in any other year in the history of Mexico.
Fourthly, he stated that as part of the process of transforming the economy, major structural reforms have been achieved that had not been carried out for decades, such as the reforms of the state workers' pension scheme, tax reform and the reform for strengthening Petróleos Mexicanos.
He added that in order to cope with the international crisis, Federal Government will use public spending to boost the economy. "We will do so responsibly so as not to jeopardize the public finances it has proved so difficult to put in order."
He admitted that the world crisis will have an impact on the economy but added that we are better prepared and in a better conditions to cope with adversity.
"The country has set its course, and once this period is over, the Mexican economy will be stronger, grow more quickly and create more jobs," said President Calderón.
He reported that Government is working on several fronts to protect natural resources. Mexico suggested the creation of a Green Fund to the international community that will reward countries that strive to reduce and prevent carbon emissions and transfer resources to projects in less developed countries to finance conservation and the environment.
Finally, the President declared that building the most prosperous nation also requires looking beyond our borders, as a result of which positive, constructive relations have been consolidated with Latin America and the Caribbean.
He ended by saying that this has made it possible to re-establish Mexico position as an indispensable actor in the global processes of agreement and development and that Mexican diplomacy is now exercised throughout the world and our voice is now listened to and respected at international forums once again. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us