MEXICO WINS U.N. COUNCIL SEAT, STRENGTHENING FOX'S WORLD ROLE

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 8 — Mexico won a seat on the United Nations Security
Council today, strengthening President Vicente Fox's efforts to move his
country away from its traditional isolation toward an active role in world
affairs.

The victory marks the first time in two decades that Mexico will serve on
the Council and comes after considerable effort by Mr. Fox. He spent much
of the first nine months of his presidency traveling across Europe, Asia
and Latin America seeking votes from world leaders.

"Mexico recognizes that in an increasingly globalized world, international
matters can no longer be detached from our national interests," said
Mexico's foreign minister, Jorge G. Casteneda. "That commits us to make
Mexico a major contributor to world debates, particularly in the face of
circumstances that constitute threats to peace and international security."

Foreign policy experts said the two-year term on the Security Council would
give Mexico — the world's 10th-largest nation with about 100 million people
— a platform from which to press for new strategies to deal with
immigration, drug trafficking, organized crime and trade disputes.

The victory also gives Mr. Fox an opportunity to improve his image at home,
where political leaders have raised questions about his leadership
abilities during world crises.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States, President Fox
was criticized for not calling Mexicans to national demonstrations of
solidarity and condolence, like those that were organized across Europe.
Members of the president's own cabinet also made contradictory statements
about how far Mexico would go to support the United States response to the
attacks.

But Mr. Fox eventually came out with "unconditional support" for the United
States and reiterated that support in a televised address on Sunday, after
the United States mounted an attack on Afghanistan.

Debate in Mexico about Mr. Fox's campaign for a seat on the Security
Council has been equally intense, with opponents worried that Mexico would
be called to send help to police settlements of violent conflicts.

President Fox has said he would be willing to send Mexican peacekeepers for
United Nations missions. But foreign policy experts said they expected
Mexico's contributions to focus more on diplomacy.

"The Security Council's work has changed dramatically since the end of the
cold war," said Jorge Montano, a former Mexican ambassador to the United
Nations and to Washington. "Its work is more creative. It involves much
more than peacekeeping missions. It involves preventive diplomacy. And that
is where I think Mexico can play its most significant role."

In addition to approving a seat for Mexico, the United Nations also voted
on Monday to give two-year seats on the Council to Syria, Bulgaria,
Cameroon and Guinea