Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9501130007
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANITA SNOW ASSSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: MEXICO CITY LENGTH: Long
To most of Mexico's 90 million people, the man who put on the green, white and red presidential sash Thursday is a bland and enigmatic man.
``I don't really have an opinion about Zedillo,'' said Aureliano Hernandez, conductor of a small orchestra playing one sunny day outside the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
``I saw him on TV,'' the 62-year-old Hernandez said, pushing his straw hat back on his head. ``He looks smart.''
Like many Mexicans who elected Zedillo on Aug. 21, Hernandez said he voted not for Zedillo the candidate, but for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party that backed him.
Hernandez said that the party brought potable water and paved roads to his town in the state of Mexico during President Carlos Salinas de Gortari's administration. He hopes for more improvements under Zedillo.
The lack of enthusiasm may be the result of a lack of exposure. Zedillo, a 42-year-old economist, had never before held elected office, instead laboring behind the scenes as a dutiful technocrat.
Zedillo was an accidental candidate, hurriedly chosen after the party's first choice, Luis Donaldo Colosio, was gunned down March 23 at a Tijuana campaign rally.
He also is considered uncharismatic.
Until named Colosio's campaign manager late last year, Zedillo was perceived as a somewhat dull Cabinet member, though an accomplished economist who helped draft Salinas' economic strategy and served briefly as education secretary.
But those who know Zedillo maintain that he is his own man, an intelligent and decisive individual concerned about his country's future.
``I have a high opinion of him,'' said Susan Kaufman Purcell, vice president of the Americas Society, in a telephone interview from New York. ``I think that he truly believes that Mexico needs to become a more democratic and equitable society.''
Zedillo had to launch his campaign in the shadow of the charismatic Colosio. He worked hard to overcome an image of a nerdy bookworm who made straight A's from elementary school through college, playing up his humble beginnings as a struggling electrician's son.
Zedillo told of growing up poor in Mexicali, yards from the California border. While his mother sold candy at the neighborhood movie theater, he cleaned rich men's boots for pocket money.
He also promoted his image as a family man, a father of five children whose wife, Nilda Patricia, accompanied him on the campaign trail.
Soon, Zedillo's wooden speeches became livelier. He traded business suits for shirt sleeves and mingled with the crowds, even stopping to shine a little boy's shoes.
On Election Day, Zedillo received one of the weakest presidential mandates in Mexican history - slightly over 50 percent of the vote.
The party has not lost a presidential election since its 1929 founding, usually in fraudulent contests. Although Zedillo's election was marred by irregularities, it was generally seen as Mexico's cleanest-ever, largely because of recent democratic reforms.
Now Zedillo will be challenged to pacify a restive country where armed rebels are threatening to resume fighting in the south. He must also hold together a ruling party split over democratic reforms while mollifying an opposition demanding a greater say in politics.
``I don't know much about Zedillo,'' said Irma Rodriguez, who sold rosaries from a wooden booth. ``But I voted for him and I like him.''
``We can only hope,'' she said, looking skyward.
ZEDILLO ON THE ISSUES
POLITICAL REFORM AND DEMOCRACY: ``Today, one of the most important demands of Mexican society is to advance democracy, strengthen the laws, acknowledge and foster pluralism, and promote social participation. This is the time for democracy, and so it is the time for electoral legality. The electoral reforms that started in 1988 have laid the foundations for ... elections to be a source of certainty and stability.''
ECONOMY: ``The strategy that we will follow to foster growth will be based on equal participation, clear rules and fair treatment for all productive sectors. I make a commitment that this proposal will have our economy growing, by 1995, at least twice the rate of population growth.''
POVERTY: ``First, we have to guarantee the poorest sectors of Mexican society have basic health, nutrition, housing and education services. Second, we must broaden employment opportunities and income for the poorest families through a vigorously growing economy.''
FOREIGN POLICY: ``The highest priority of my government will be strengthening and fully exercising national sovereignty. We conceive sovereignty as the exclusive ability of Mexicans to make our own decisions, to define and advance freely and autonomously to our destiny. We do not confuse sovereignty with isolationism.''
by CNB