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President Clinton met with nine Senators at the White
House tonight to woo them into supporting his decision to
certify Mexico's antidrug campaign, and several of the
lawmakers said afterward that Mr. Clinton had made a good
case.

The Senators were briefed by the President and several
Cabinetlevel aides, including Attorney General Janet Reno
and Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, the drugpolicy director. The
Administration argued that decertification would be against
United States interests, the Senators said.

"People listen to that," Senator Patrick J. Leahy,
Democrat of Vermont, said. "It's easy to treat Mexico in
simplistic terms."

Senator Richard G. Lugar, Republican of Indiana, spoke
of "the very serious situation" that would be created by
decertifying Mexico. But he stopped short of saying that
Mr. Clinton had won him over completely.

Senators Lugar and Leahy said an alternate resolution
was being worked on by Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison,
Republican of Texas; Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of
Connecticut, and others. They declined to discuss its
wording, but it seemed likely from their tone that the
resolution would walk a diplomatic tightrope expressing
American resolve to continue the war on drugs while
applauding efforts by Mexico to improve its performance.

The meeting had been expected to draw a few dozen
senators, and there was no immediate explanation why far
fewer attended. The President has seen support in the
Senate as crucial for his decision to certify Mexico, which
protects Mexico's eligibility for United States aid. It was
by no means clear tonight that Mr. Clinton had a majority
in either House for approving recertification, but the
Senators' remarks indicated that he might at least have
enough votes in the Senate to sustain his veto if it votes
to deny certification. Mexico
Names AntiDrug Chief

MEXICO CITY, Mar. 10 (By The New York Times) The
Mexican Government, trying to rebound from embarrassing
corruption scandals in its antidrug program, appointed a
civilian lawyer to head the war on drugs today after
forcing him to pass a battery of truth and drug tests.

Mariano F. Herran, the lawyer and a former labor court
magistrate, was the first highlevel counternarcotics
official to be named under a new screening regimen ordered
by President Ernesto Zedillo. Senior Justice officials said
that eventually all employees of Mr. Herran's National
Institute to Combat Drugs would have to pass the tests. The
former head of the institute, Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo,
was arrested on Feb. 18 on charges that he protected and
received benefits from a powerful cocaine baron, Amado
Carrillo Fuentes.

Mr. Herran was subjected to a liedetector test, medical
tests for drug use and a psychological examination,
Attorney General Jorge Madrazo Cuellar said.