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Kay Bailey Hutchison deserves credit for leading the
successful effort in the Senate to retain Mexico's
certification while carefully pointing out that nation's
failures in the war on drugs and requiring a report on
improvements by Sept. 1 It was a nice bit of compromise
work aided by the Texas senator and far preferable to the
House vote last week to overturn President Clinton's Feb.
28 certification of Mexico.

The House has suspended its override for 90 days to give
Mexico time to respond and show improvement, although, in
effect, its decertification vote is now largely symbolic
since the Senate has refused to go along.

It would be better for this country and Mexico if the
conference committee signed off on the Senate bill and had
it approved by the House.

The reasons the compromise measure should be supported
are simple. While Mexico is obviously suffering from
shocking government corruption in its battle against drugs,
economic hardships and political turmoil resulting from
decertification would only aggravate the situation.

The United States shares a long border with Mexico, and
the futures of both nations are linked. Decertification
would erode support for Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo
and his political reforms and undoubtedly raise the level
of Mexican nationalism and antiAmerican sentiment.

Hutchison's compromise, supported by the White House,
requires President Clinton to report on the progress of
U.S.Mexican efforts to break up drug trafficking cartels,
improve border enforcement and deny traffickers safe
havens.

It also requires the White House to report on its
progress toward increasing drug interdiction, expanding
antidrug education and adding 1,000 U.S. Border Patrol
agents in this country, after all, is where the demand
for illegal, dangerous drugs is out of control.

Hutchison's compromise gets a tough message across
without decertifying Mexico, which would have been
detrimental to Texas, the United States and Mexican
political reform. The House should add its approval.