A NEW DRUG WAR STRATEGY

In Mexico, McCaffrey signals willingness to dump certification.

Mexico and its neighbors are still struggling to master the implications of
Vicente Fox's successful bid to wrest the Mexican presidency away from the
long-dominant Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI).

Already, however, we are seeing all manner of spinoffs from this electoral
earthquake - most of them positive.

A case in point is a new show of optimism on the issue of curbing the flood
of drugs coming into this country from Latin America. Barry McCaffrey, Bill
Clinton's "drug czar," visited Mexico City last week for talks with the
president-elect.

On his arrival in the capital, McCaffrey made it clear that he is encouraged
by Fox's interest in developing imaginative strategies to curb his country's
drug lords. PRI administrations - some of them with ties to the
traffickers - were notably half-hearted in their anti-drug efforts.

Noting the change in climate, McCaffrey said there will be a quid pro quo
from Washington. He said the administration may seek to scrap the deeply
flawed "certification" program whereby U.S. aid to Mexico and other nations
is pegged to their degree of cooperation in drug-fighting efforts.

The intent of that policy is beyond reproach. In action, however, it has
been far more troublesome than helpful. Mexico and other Latin American
nations see it as an affront, and point out - correctly - that without the
huge demand for drugs in this country, the traffickers would be out of
business.

Inevitably, Mexico wins certification, however grudgingly - but the process
represents a permanent irritant. In Mexico, McCaffrey said he sees the
potential for Washington and Mexico City to develop a new strategy based on
"partnership, not confrontation." Given the conspicuous failure of the "drug
war" to date, Fox's approach at the very least deserves serious, respectful
study.