CALDERON REBUKES U.S. CANDIDATES

Charges 'Anti-Mexican' Posturing in Interview

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Wednesday accused
U.S. presidential candidates of "anti-Mexican" posturing and asked
the U.S. Congress not to impose conditions on a $1.4 billion
anti-drug aid package.

"The only theme in the (U.S.) electoral campaign is to compete to see
who can be the most swaggering, macho and anti-Mexican," Calderon
told a local radio station, Enfoque. He did not name any particular
candidate or party.

Mexico's government has expressed disappointment at President Bush's
inability to change U.S. immigration policy to legalize the status of
millions of undocumented Mexican workers in the USA.

Calderon has urged change since taking office a year ago, but he has
championed the issue less vocally than his predecessor, Vicente Fox.

"I find the greatest sensitivity in the U.S. government, some in
Congress," Calderon said. He said there was a "lack of understanding
and aggravation, hostility toward Mexico" among Americans in general.

Calderon, who rarely gives interviews, is a conservative leader who
has generally favored U.S. policies on trade and anti-drug efforts.
He has made cracking down on drug smugglers a centerpiece of his
administration, and U.S. drug enforcement agencies credit his efforts
with a decline in cocaine supply in many U.S. cities.

However, Calderon appeared to reject any added conditions on a
proposed $1.4 billion U.S. anti-drug aid package that had been
negotiated with the United States, saying, "I cannot accept any
submission or subordination."

The proposal, dubbed the Merida Initiative, is meant to give Mexico
aid, training and equipment to fight drug trafficking, which the
United States sees as a U.S. national security problem.

The funding still awaits approval in Congress, and some U.S.
legislators have said the program may need safeguards to prevent
corruption or human rights abuses by Mexican military and law
enforcement personnel.

"I need that technology," Calderon said. "Give it to me. And give it
to me without conditions."

Calderon also criticized U.S. involvement in Iraq, saying U.S.
leaders were "spending Americans' money and putting the government
into debt to finance their military adventure, and that is squeezing
out private investment."

Fox's refusal to endorse military action against Iraq in a 2003
United Nations vote led to cooler relations between Mexico and the
United States.