Granma Internacional Digital, December 14, 2000 MEXICO (PL)--The recently appointed Mexican ambassador to Cuba, Ricardo Andrés Pascoe, has denied that a confrontational climate exists between the two nations and said that the aim of his country's new administration is to boost bilateral relations.MEXICO TO BOOST TRADE AND FRIENDSHIP RELATIONS
The new Mexican ambassador in Havana, Ricardo A. Pascoe, blames ex-President Zedillo's government for damaging longstanding links with the island
In statements published by the Mexican daily El Universal on December 8, the ambassador emphasized the cordial atmosphere that predominated in the meeting between the two countries' presidents, Fidel Castro and Vicente Fox, on the occasion of the latter's inauguration on December 1.
Pascoe declared that the new Mexican administration intends to boost trade and exchanges with the island beyond current levels.
Among the focus of the new commercial relationship with Havana is to try to provide investment incentives and to increase bilateral links in the many areas where they have traditionally existed, he said.
In response to a question about Mexico's stance with regard to U.S. blockade of Cuba, Pascoe said that attempting to economically asphyxiate the country is a measure that has set back any possibility of a solution.
Pascoe blamed former President Ernesto Zedillo's government for damaging the longstanding relations between the two countries.
The representative of Vicente Fox's government in Havana said that the position adopted by Mexico at the recent Americas Summit and Ibero-American Summit had been responsible for a deterioration in the links and a reduction in trade exchanges.
Pascoe made it clear that the moments of tension that occurred during the past administration (1994-2000) were a consequence of Zedillo's views on Mexican foreign policy. "That is as clear as day," he emphasized.
He also said that the reduction in commerce from $300 million USD to $200 million USD per year had the decision of the previous president.
The ambassador explained that the decrease in the sector had been the responsibility of Zedillo's government, which had tried to "ease or improve dealings with the United States."
He said that the previous government's strategy showed a marked interest in reducing relations between Mexico and Cuba, two sister nations with historic links which have both suffered in recent times from "a foreign policy modified on the part of this country."
The ambassador observed that Mexico is entering a new era, in which people's right to self-determination would be respected and, most especially, the idea that Cuba's future must be defined by Cubans and nobody else would be defended.