If elected, what would you change?
I’d like to consolidate economic stability, political liberalization, democracy and a climate of tolerance. I’d like to change the benefits of wealth so that they would be distributed more equally. I’d fight crime and corruption.
How would you distribute wealth more equally?
We’re starting from an economic foundation that is totally different from the one we had in 1995. In 1995 the urgent priority was to combat the financial crisis. Now we can think about how we can combat the unequal distribution of income, revive the middle class and support small and medium-size companies.
Critics charge that the PRI is doling out social programs in order to win the election.
Mexico has no [social] programs implemented solely during election periods. Health and education benefits are distributed year-round. No one says they are only for those who vote for the PRI and not for the PAN.
Suppose the election is clean, but you win by a slim margin. Are you concerned that Fox will urge his supporters to create civil unrest?
Yes, obviously, that risk exists. He’s said publicly he won’t accept our triumph unless we win by 10 percentage points, which is equivalent to 3.5 to 4 million votes. The most recent polls give us a lead of around 2 million votes.
When you started the campaign, you said the PRI had changed, that it now played by democratic rules. Then your poll numbers started to go down and you invited into your campaign old-timers like [former Interior minister Manuel] Bartlett, who was allegedly involved in election fraud in the past. Are you the new PRI or the old PRI? What role will the old-timers have in your administration?
I represent the struggle in favor of the new PRI. All the groups within the [PRI] party are participating in order to win the electoral campaign. I have made no commitment to any party members regarding future positions.
What can you do about the drug cartels and the large-scale corruption that exists?
Naturally it is a difficult task but not an impossible one. I’ve proposed 11 measures to combat corruption and close to 100 measures concerning public security.
Don’t you have to have the will at the leadership level to go after drug lords and create an honest police force?
Corruption, crime and impunity are closely related. You have to attack all three simultaneously.
Aren’t there rumors that you looked the other way on drug trafficking when you were governor of Sinaloa?
That’s absolutely false; it’s a slander.
I’ve heard that you were personally threatened.
A threat is a telephone call telling you that you’re going to die. A message is having your car machine-gunned when you’re not in the car. An attempt on your life is when you’re shot at when you’re in the car. On two occasions, they fired at me when I was with my wife. So obviously, I attacked some [vested] interests, and obviously not everybody likes me. The greatest challenge we have isn’t the economy. It’s public security and the fight against corruption.
How would you feel about increasing cooperation with the United States in the fight against drugs?
We have to find better methods of cooperation with U.S. agencies.
Some people argue that Mexico won’t be a real democracy unless the PRI loses. The Catholic bishops make that argument.
I read the document of the bishops that says there must be a real possibility for a change of government. And I think that is what democracy signifies.
So you reject the argument that the PRI must lose in order to have a real democracy?
The logical argument says that democracy is respect for the vote, equal competition [among parties] and a real possibility for a change in parties.
If you become president, would you like to build on the close relations with the United States that President Ernesto Zedillo has forged?
I think that relations between Mexico and the U.S. are in a magnificent moment. I want to maintain this climate of good relations and also search for new areas of cooperation–including more efficient agreements to combat our common enemies. Those include arms trafficking, drug trafficking and terrorism. I also believe it suits the interests of both countries to have a broader immigration agreement and to seek broader economic integration of the region.
