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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 003069 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR MX
SUBJECT: CALDERON AT MOUNT SINAI 
 
REF: MEXICO 2367 
 
 ¶1.  (U) Summary:  On May 31, Felipe Calderon, presidential 
candidate of the ruling National Action Party (PAN), 
addressed over 500 members of Mexico,s Jewish community, the 
first of the three major presidential candidates to publicly 
appear before this community.  In his remarks, Calderon 
focused on economic policy, public security, and the rule of 
law, saving his harshest criticisms for the recent 
anti-poverty proposals of challenger Andres Manuel Lopez 
Obrador (AMLO) of the Party of the Democratic Revolution 
(PRD).  Distancing himself from President Fox's troubled 
relations with Congress, Calderon pledged that if elected, 
his first priority would be to form a stable and enduring 
legislative coalition.  He also reaffirmed his strong support 
for keeping religion out of politics and his commitment to 
fighting ethnic discrimination.  He lamented Mexico,s 
tradition of reflexively supporting anti-Israel resolutions 
in international fora, pledging that under a Calderon 
administration, Mexico would end that practice and consider 
each Middle East-related resolution on its own merits.  The 
warm welcome accorded Calderon -- his remarks were punctuated 
on several occasions by standing ovations -- demonstrated he 
clearly had overcome any lingering wariness in the Jewish 
community on account of the PAN's perceived past relationship 
with conservative elements within the Catholic church.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) Calderon's appearance at the Mount Sinai Jewish 
School was the first public appearance by a major 
presidential candidate before members of the Mexican Jewish 
community this year; AMLO is scheduled to appear on June 12 
and PRI candidate Roberto Madrazo has promised to appear as 
well.  During the event, Calderon turned in an energetic, 
upbeat performance before an enthusiastic crowd.  The 
candidate spoke largely off-the-cuff for some 20 minutes, 
addressing such issues as economic policy, public security 
and the rule of law, before taking questions from the 
audience. 
 
AMLO,s Economic Numbers Do Not Add Up 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Largely ignoring third place contender Roberto 
Madrazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), 
Calderon contrasted his free market-oriented economic 
platform -- which he characterized as forward-looking -- with 
the allegedly statist model proposed by AMLO.  He argued that 
AMLO,s economic proposals are the same that have been tried 
-- and have failed -- throughout Latin America.  He denounced 
AMLO,s recently-announced plan to raise the real wages of 
Mexico,s poorest citizens by 20 percent, saying it would 
cost the GOM as much as ten percent of annual GDP and cripple 
the economy.  Calderon added that AMLO,s proposals for other 
major public works projects, such as a long-distance bullet 
train and oil refineries, would leave the country deeply in 
debt and generate inflation, which would hurt Mexico,s poor 
most of all.  Emphasizing Mexico's need to restore economic 
competitiveness, Calderon argued that the country,s 
inefficient energy monopolies were strangling economic 
growth. 
 
Overhaul Required to Address Public Security 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Calderon said that reforming Mexico's dysfunctional 
law enforcement apparatus and restoring public security would 
be among the most serious challenges facing his 
administration.  To illustrate the point, he asked members of 
the audience to raise their hands if they or a family member 
had fallen victim to a crime in Mexico City: approximately 75 
percent raised their hands.  He asserted that Mexico's crime 
problem was partly a cultural one, insofar as there is a 
tradition in Mexico of disrespect for the rule of law.  He 
singled out corruption as being a key factor underlying the 
poor state of public security, asserting that corruption in 
the political class and among law enforcement personnel has 
created an environment of impunity.  He said that he would 
seek a comprehensive reform of the justice sector, ranging 
from crime prevention to criminal rehabilitation.  At the 
core of the plan would be a fundamental reform of the police, 
placing the GOM's numerous autonomous police forces under a 
single command.  He also proposed raising and harmonizing 
hiring standards, enhancing professional training and 
improving salaries.  He advocating creating a mechanism by 
which citizens would oversee the work of police, to ensure 
the transparency and effectiveness of law enforcement. 
 
¶5.  (U) In addition to overhauling the law enforcement 
 
MEXICO 00003069  002 OF 002 
 
 
apparatus, Calderon proposed a number of statutory reforms. 
He noted, for example, that anyone filing criminal charges 
has to provide their full name and current home address and 
they have no assurances that their information will not get 
back into the hands of the accused; this deters many crime 
victims from reporting crimes and should be repealed. He also 
railed against statutory minimum sentences, arguing that too 
many judges simply applied this minimum to avoid legal 
challenges.  Calderon endorsed life sentences for kidnappers, 
although in response to an audience question, he reiterated 
his opposition to the death penalty.  He advocated greater 
use of high-technology in preventing and solving crimes, 
including the creation of a central database to maintain 
fingerprints, ballistics, DNA, and arrest records.  When 
asked about the controversial recent bill decriminalizing 
drug use (reftel) he said he opposed decriminalizing drug 
use, even if the GOM's focus should be on the prevention and 
treatment of drug abuse, and the prosecution of 
drug-traffickers. 
 
Calderon to Seek Governing Coalition 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶6.  (U) In an implicit critique of President Fox's poor 
relationship with Congress, Calderon pledged that if he were 
elected without achieving a PAN legislative majority, his 
first priority would be to form a stable and permanent 
governing coalition, and that he was willing to do the 
personal politicking necessary to form such a coalition.  He 
referred approvingly to the custom of Colombian President 
Alvaro Uribe of breakfasting with different legislators every 
day, in order to maintain a working relationship between the 
executive and legislative branches.  Alluding to the possible 
inclusion of representatives of other parties in his cabinet, 
Calderon added that he was willing to share the 
responsibilities of governing. 
 
Calderon Distances Himself From PAN's Past 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  (U) The candidate received a standing ovation when he 
declared that Mexico must remain a secular society in which 
religion and politics do not mix.  He said that combating 
discrimination would be a priority of his administration and 
that he would increase funding for the National Council 
Against Discrimination.  He faulted the Fox Administration 
for allegedly responding with insufficient vigor to last 
year's anti-Semitic incident targeting former Director of the 
Mexican Social Security Institute Santiago Levy. 
 
Candidate Regrets Mexican Middle East Policy 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Answering an audience question about Mexican 
relations with Israel, Calderon said there had been "a 
terrible deficiency" in Mexico,s Middle East policy, 
epitomized by the GOM's history of reflexively supporting 
anti-Israel resolutions in international fora.  He said that 
if he were elected, the GOM would no longer maintain an a 
priori position on Middle East-related resolutions and would 
consider each one on its own merits.  He strongly condemned 
the decision by former President Luis Echevarria (1970-76) to 
support the infamous "Zionism is racism" resolution at the 
UN, an act he called "anti-Semitic." 
 
Comment: Calderon Connects...With Core Constituency 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Comment:  Calderon's engaging performance at this 
event and the warm welcome he was accorded suggests he has 
overcome any lingering wariness within the Jewish community 
-- and perhaps among other non-Catholics -- on account of the 
PAN's historic association with conservative elements within 
the Catholic church.  Calderon's gains in this constituency 
undoubtedly come more at the expense of Roberto Madrazo than 
of AMLO.  Of course, in many respects, the well-educated, 
upper-middle class audience represented a home team crowd for 
Calderon, and we would have been surprised if he were not 
well-received.  The ultimate success of his campaign will 
depend not on whether he can connect in Mexico's prosperous 
suburbs, but whether he can connect with the majority of 
Mexicans who prosperity has left behind. 
 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity 
 
GARZA