PATCHING AN ANTI-DRUG ALLIANCE

THE U.S. Senate came within a few votes last week of favoring
decertification of Mexico for failing to be "fully cooperative" with this
country in fighting the international drug traffic.

The bid to rebuff the Mexican government, for permitting corruption to ruin
any chance of stopping drug lords from shipping their products to American
users, was led for the second year running by Sen. Dianne Feinstein. She
likened Mexico's policing of drug laws to "an inflated balloon --
impressive to look at but hollow at the core and easily punctured."

Mexican drug enforcement, despite repeated unveilings of joint strategies
with the United States, is a practically unbroken series of
disappointments. Military, police and other officials seem unable or
unwilling to act effectively against violent drug rings sending illicit
supplies across the 2,000-mile border. The Clinton administration,
however, decided to recertify Mexico as an ally in the war on drugs rather
than give up on any possible improvement and invite broader trouble in U.S.
- -Mexican relations.

Most senators evidently agreed with the administration's policy of settling
for less-than-perfect cooperation and hoping for better in the future.
Feinstein was on the losing end of a 54-to 45 vote on decertification,
making the issue moot in the House because both chambers would have had to
agree to overrule the administration.

Mexico's indignation about the certification process rings hollow because
its police effort is undermined by corruption.

The lesson to be gained from the embarrassing Senate debate is that the
Mexican government must do better on drugs in order to improve its standing
on a whole range of other international issues. The United States cannot
evade its own primary responsibility for the drug problem on U.S. streets,
but Washington's expectation of a little help from its friends, to cut the
international traffic is only reasonable.