ZEDILLO IS PRAISED ON DRUG WAR

Cooperation: President Clinton appears prepared to again certify Mexico as
an ally despite failures and congressional criticism.

Merida,Mexico-President Clinton on Monday all but assured Mexican
President Ernesto Zedillo that he again would certify Mexico as a
cooperative ally in the war against drugs, brushing aside
disappointing results and U.S. congressional criticism.

"The fundamental question is are we better off fighting it together or
separately, and perhaps sometimes at odds with one another," Clinton
said at the outset of a meeting with Zedillo in this sun-washed town
on the Yucatan Peninsula.

While cautioning that neither country has won the drug war, Clinton
said "a lot of the indicators (are) going in the right direction in
the United States. And cooperation with Mexico has clearly improved
under President Zedillor's leadership."

Accompanied by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton on the 23-hour trip,
Clinton also vowed to cooperate with the Republican Congress that
tried to oust him, saying it is the only way to enact needed reforms.
Four Republicans joined a 24-member congressional delegation on the
trip.

"This is a time for reconciliation and renewal," Clinton said. "We
can't solve the challenges of Social Security and Medicare and
education and these other things, we can't keep the American economy
going, unless we have a level of cooperation."

Clinton's annual certification, due in two weeks, is necessary to
keep U.S. aid to Mexico flowing. It would take a two-thirds vote of
Congress to overturn his decision.

Mexican officials bristle at having to pass muster by another country,
complaining that the U.S. certification law undermines trust between
the two nations.

Although Clinton, like Presidents Reagan and Bush before him has
routinely granted the certification, illegal drugs continue to stream
into U.S. cities, prompting many members of Congress to call for
Mexico to be punished.

These critics complain about corruption among Mexican authorities, and
apparent decrease in seizures of cocaine last year and a drop in the
number of heroin-producing poppy fields destroyed.

MEXICO-U.S. PACT

Key agreements Monday between President Clinton and Mexican President
Ernesto Zedillo

Agreement on 16 benchmarks to measure both U.S. and Mexican
performance in the drug war, including asset forfeiture and demand
reduction.

A 44 billion line of credit over two years to help Mexican businesses
that buy American goods and services.

A civil aviation pact to liberalize flights between the United Sstates
and Mexico, estimated to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to
airlines.

$1.22 million in U.S. funds to the Mexican Nature Conservation Fund,
to prevent a repeat of last year's wildfires that sent smog into Texas
and Florida.

U.S. training and technical assistance to Mexico's new federal police
force.

Increased consultation on cross-border law enforcement, including
formal comminications between U.S. attorneys and Mexican consuls in
the border states.

Shared information on suspected diversions of legal chemicals to the
processing of narcotics.

Financing for collaboration to fight Mexico's annual 11,000 new cases
of tuberculosis.