Mayor Back From Talks in Mexico on Key Issues

OXNARD — Mayor Manuel Lopez returned Thursday afternoon from a whirlwind trip to Mexico City where he was one of a few California lawmakers asked to meet with Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and Secretary of State Jose Angel Gurria.

Lopez, along with elected officials from across the country, met with the Mexican leaders Tuesday to discuss immigration, drug policy and Mexico’s image in the American media and with lawmakers.

The visit, coming on the heels of President Clinton’s tour, is part of an effort by the Mexican government to broaden communication with the United States, particularly with the Mexican American leadership.

Lopez joined Los Angeles City Councilmen Mike Hernandez and Richard Alarcon as well as other elected officials from Texas, Chicago and Sacramento.

“The Mexicans don’t feel that the American press is giving them a fair shake, so they wanted to tell us in person what they think,” Lopez said.

Javier Trevino, Mexico’s deputy secretary of foreign affairs, said this is the first group of elected officials to participate in such a wide-ranging program. Trevino said the meeting is part of a larger program that includes athletic, cultural, business and political exchanges between the two countries.

Meeting with the Mexican American delegates was a source of pride for the Mexican officials, Trevino said.

“For us, it is very important to have this relationship,” Trevino said. “We are very proud of the group members who have achieved so much.”

Zedillo told the delegation that he wanted to be remembered as a president who opened up the electoral and political system for all Mexicans, Lopez said. One of the achievements he cited was the creation of a voter registration data tracking system that helps to identify voters and prevent election fraud, he said.

In addition, Zedillo addressed the drug enforcement problem that has landed Mexico on the front pages of newspapers for the past several months, Lopez said.

The mayor said that Zedillo cited America’s insatiable appetite for drugs as one of the major obstacles to combating drug dealing.

Though Lopez said he didn’t learn anything new in his visit, he did hear more details about those issues that have been covered extensively in the press.

It was the first visit to Mexico City in more than 20 years for Lopez, whose parents were born in Mexico.

Besides the delegation’s visit to Los Pinos--the presidential residence--and the foreign ministry, the officials stopped by the pre-colonial Aztec ruins in the center of Mexico City and the Museum of Anthropology. The ruins, which were excavated in the late 1970s, are astonishing, Lopez said.

“It’s really awe inspiring,” said Lopez. “I could spend two years there just going over those things.”