Carlos Salinas de Gortari

OLD PRESIDENT OR NEW CITIZEN

By Carlos Zaldívar

We always remember some people by his or her work or legacy. Why? Because we always remember moments, minutes or facts, never days or entire lives.

Even there is an old fashion proverb: Do many things well and one bad, and you will be remembered by the last one. How true is it, instead the first ones?

Let’s take a view thru history. Einstein did a lot of well things and was the great physician that divided the physics in two eras, the old one and the nuclear. Too much people think he invented the atomic bomb and created the biggest human disaster: the partially destruction of the man by himself. Not all is true, but his mind. The mind of his body was brilliant and could be homage to science.

In case of Hitler, he was a great super leader and did a lot of bad things and a few good ones. We all remember him as the antichrist, but what about his military strategies, his power of command and his brilliant ideas of leadership. His search for the perfect mankind still as an utopia and as a consequence of war crimes he is worst than the antichrist.

I could list a whole list of names of leaders, great or bad ones, but now I'll just name a few ones as Mussolini, Eisenhower, Lenin, Thatcher, Kohl, Nixon, Díaz, Villa and even Pío XII.

And not going deeper in this list and taking the names of leaders as presidents; there is (or was?) a great leader, economist, politician, and president. His name: Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

President of Mexico from 1988 thru 1994. Yes I know. He did too much good things and a few ones, but the last ones had a heavier weight than the first ones for the mexican people. But lets take another view thru history.

I can take the words of Charles Dickens: "...were the best times, were the worst times". Salinas took the country with too much economic doubts and political problems. His government opened the doors of worldwide trading and one important fact was that the inflation in one year became to one digit, and repeated thru two more. Some international bankers and investors wanted to come to Mexico and make business, and they did.

Alan Stoga, executive director of Kissinger Associates Inc. wrote the first day of November of nineteen ninety four: "After Salinas, Mexico would never be the same", and it did. His article refers to facts I mentioned above and some more.

An immediate and visible fact was the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) and the political sequels from Washington went on time and correct.

We can´t denied that Salinas left the country better than he received it, or can we?

But nineteen ninety four is just five years ago and just in the last month, he did wrong. But no one still can prove it; even the justice neither other politicians.

He left us many new hospitals, schools, environmental programs and other benefits like the solidarity economic program. Even his thoughts to follow or not, like the pupils to the teacher and the people to him. We share another economic measure: The economic deal for the basic products, the maintenance of taxes and special programs for the people who have less than others.

And then came December, one error and the auto exile. There were devaluation and murders that still exist without an exact author (and will exist like that).

These last events are past and the past doesn´t exist anymore. We have to concentrate in the present to prepare the future. We need to learn of those errors and fortresses. We can learn about what Carter did with Cuba, Reagan for his re-election or Thatcher for the South American islands and much more.

After those exiling years Salinas came back to his country. His country because he was born here and here is his home. Who can presume of not missing the home where were grown up?

He has the rights as a Mexican to enter his country, to live in it and to leave it whenever he desires. He came back after those years living in Ireland to speak to us (forced or not).

At least this is not homage or an unpopular image of Salinas, but an objective and different point of view for another Mexican.

To end this writing, how do you qualified Salinas de Gortari? As an old and forgotten president, an eternal prosecution case, and economic human error, a genetic error of God, a great leader or a new Mexican citizen (as you are)?

August 1999.