|
|
|
Events >> The Democracy Award >> 2001 Democracy Award
|
President Fox's Remarks Congressman Robert Menendez's Remarks Democratic Leader Richard A. Gephardt's Remarks Photos from the Event Back to 2001 Democracy Award |
Congressman Robert Menendez Welcoming Remarks for President Vicente Fox of Mexico at the National Endowment for Democracy Award Ceremony September 6, 2001 Señor Presidente, Bienvenidos a nuestro distrito federal y al Congreso de los Estados Unidos! Guiádos por el espiritu de nuestros próceres, Washington y Jefferson e Hidalgo y Juarez, comenzamos con su visita una nueva etapa entre nuestros paizes y nuestros pueblos. Guided by the spirit of our great founding fathers, Washington and Jefferson and Hidalgo and Juárez, we launch with your visit a new era between our nations and our peoples. Your countrymen have chosen you to demonstrate to the world that Mexico has fully embraced democracy. To many people, that silent but dramatic exercise of electoral freedom, which was achieved not by the bullet but by the ballot, has resonated as loudly as the sound of the picks and sledge hammers that brought down the Berlin Wall in 1989. Your countrymen now ask that you deliver on their expectations, their hopes and their dreams that democracy - and you personally, as the embodiment of those dreams - can and will deliver not just a better way of life, but a better standard of living. From the moment of your historic inauguration, you have faced the momentous task -- and significant challenge -- of establishing democratic governance, of building democratic institutions that can deliver results for the people, of tackling corruption and of building a bond of trust with a nation of 100 million. You now have the distinction of being the first Mexican Chief Executive to deal with a Mexican Congress that will not issue a rubber stamp to all of your legislative initiatives. We know a little bit about that in the United States as well. Just ask President Bush when you see him later this evening! Hopefully, all national leaders can truly rise above partisan concerns and forthrightly address the needs of their people. You are asked to provide seeds for the farmer, food for the family table, medical care for the sick, prosperity for the poor and justice for the disenfranchised. To that end, my colleagues and I soon will be introducing a bill to provide for a social investment fund for the Americas so that all the people of this hemisphere may benefit from the coming economic reform and integration and ensure that no one will be left behind. We believe it will compliment your Puebla to Panama initiative. Mr. President, I must tell you that I have read press reports about your performance lately. Last Sunday's Washington Post reported that the president's support is down to a measley 64 percent! Let me suggest, Mr. President, that many in this room would find great satisfaction in attaining those approval numbers! Ladies and gentleman, after nearly three-fourths of a century of one-party rule in Mexico, it is indeed a high honor for me to join in celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of the Mexican people and in welcoming a man they chose as the embodiment of their democratic aspirations. Today we rightly salute him and honor him for his historic achievement. Hoy extendimos nuestra mano en amistad. Felicidades, Señor Presidente! |
|
| |