FOX SAYS U.S. SHOULD ACCEPT MORE DRUG BLAME

Only days before his historic inauguration as president, Vicente Fox
said America should deal with its drug habit and pledged to join the
United States and Canada in what he called "NAFTA-plus."

In an interview with The Associated Press before he takes office on
Friday, Fox said the United States is too quick to write off Mexico
as a corrupt haven for drug smugglers - and too reluctant to look in
the mirror.

"The United States year after year blames us. Why?" Fox asked. "Who
lets the drugs into the United States? Who is doing gigantic business
in the United States, then sends down millions of dollars that
corrupt Mexican police officers and government officials?"

Fox said the two countries need to "sit down ... and work this out together."

Fox has promised strong measures against drug corruption, but his
comments indicate he will continue - or increase - Mexico's
long-standing complaint that the supply of drugs would not exist
without demand in the United States.

He also said that despite a tepid reaction from both George W. Bush
and Al Gore, he was confident that he would persuade his northern
neighbors to expand the North American Free Trade Agreement and
eventually to open their borders entirely to Mexican goods - and
maybe even workers - along the lines of the European Union.

"I am proposing a 'NAFTA-plus,"' he said. "I'm proposing that 20, 30
years down the road we form a North American common market in which
we become partners, the United States, Canada and Mexico.

"I will continue to insist on this, and I know I will win the
battle," Fox said. "I am going to persuade Bush or Gore, whoever it
is. And I am going to persuade the American people."

Fox's election on July 2 was a historic change for Mexico, ending 71
years of rule by a single party. On Friday, the country enters a new
era as Fox takes office - and takes on dire problems including
crippling poverty, widespread corruption and rampant crime.

A farmer and former Coca-Cola executive, Fox pledged to treat the
country as a CEO would a money-losing company, and to build "a
government that costs less and does more."

Chatting with his children and posing for photographers, Fox seemed
extremely relaxed given what he's facing.

"It's just like in school," Fox said. "When it's time for exams, the
people who have studied go in calmly, with the confidence that
everything will go well. ... I am going to be the best president this
country has ever had."