TOWARD A WESTERN HEMISPHERE COMMUNITY

			    OF DEMOCRACIES

			      An Address

				  by

			Vice President Al Gore

				  to

		Mexican, American, and Latin American

			 Chambers of Commerce

			 National Auditorium

			 Mexico City, Mexico

			   December 1, 1993

     I rejoice in this visit to Mexico where -- as a young man -- I
spent a lot of time learning about your country and studying your
language. I hope you will be tolerant of my rudimentary linguistic
skills as I begin by saying -- Viva Mexico, Viva Los Estados Unidos --
and, arriba el TLC.

     I'm grateful that this speech is being telecast throughout Latin
America. I would like to say to those who are listening: not only
thank you and gracias, but also obrigado! And I bring you greetings
from President Clinton and the people of the United States.

     In 1947, Harry Truman became the first President of the United
States ever to visit Mexico.

     President Truman's visit was important not only because it was a
first, but because of what the President did when he was here. For at
one point during his visit, Harry Truman drove to Chapultepec Castle,
and walked to the stone monument honoring Los Ninos Heroes - the
brave, child heroes of the Mexican-American War, who had died a
hundred years before.

     There, he laid a floral wreath, a gesture of respect symbolizing
his belief that the United States must acknowledge the heartache of
our past in order to enter the future.

     I saw a glimpse of that future when I arrived last night and
looked into the bright shining faces of 100 Mexican children of this
generation.

     It is with our hopes for our children, for a future offering them
not martyrdom but bright promise, that I stand before you. I have come
to this proud and ancient city which as Tenochtitlan so astounded the
Spaniards, to take another step into the future, one that Mexico,
Canada, and the United States enter with the dignity of equal
partners.

We meet together at a unique moment in history. Change is the hallmark
of our era. At the end of the Cold War, the old organizing principles
through which we understood the world must be revised.

     I am reminded of the words of Mexico's Nobel Laureate, Octavio
Paz, who has written, "The past has left us orphans, as it has the
rest of the planet, and we must join together in inventing our common
future. World history has become everyone's task, and our own
labyrinth is the labyrinth of all mankind."

     For too long we have created barriers between our countries. But
our nations are taking steps to create Paz's "common future." The
North American Free Trade Agreement -NAFTA -- is a victory of
partnership over antagonism, of optimism over fear, of the future over
the past.

It is also a testament to the courage and vision of Mexico. Without
your willingness to embrace change under the leadership of President
Salinas -- without his willingness to chart a new course -- there
would be no North American Free Trade Agreement.

     I told President Salinas this morning that I knew his presidency
would be historic and transforming. I followed his campaign closely
because it had some similarities with another campaign in 1988 with
which I was familiar. In that year, I campaigned throughout the United
States in an attempt to convince the people of my country that a 40
year old Harvard graduate would make a great president.

     President Salinas' policies of change have propelled your economy
in new directions. They are far-reaching policies: joining the world
trade community, ridding the economy of excessive regulation,
privatizing over a thousand state corporations, and generating
billions of dollars for broader benefits to society.

     In the United States we like to say we are "reinventing
government." We are trying to create a government that works better
and costs less. In many ways, Mexico already has reinvented its
government.

Inflahon is down from 160% to single-digits. The budget is
balanced. Mexico is growing again.

     Four years ago President Salinas addressed a joint session of the
U.S. Congress. There, he called for a "new relationship free of myths
and mistrust, abuses and recriminations; a relationship of ongoing
dialogue between our two nations, respectful of our inherent
differences ... inspired in the ideals of democracy, justice and
freedom which we share."

     As our two nations move steadily toward such a relationship,
toward closer ties of cooperation, I am reminded of the words of one
of your greatest leaders, Benito Juarez -words emblazoned in the halls
of the Mexican Congress: "El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz --
Peace is based on respect for the rights of others."

     This principle underlies the modern relationship between the
United States and Mexico and has made possible the agreement we
celebrate today.

     But I have not come to Mexico City only to celebrate our historic
trade agreement.

     In my country, NAFTA does represent a fundamental decision of the
people of the United States about trade. But for our part, this
decision also represents a basic choice about the future of our
relationship with Mexico, our relationship to this hemisphere, and a
choice about how we wish to relate to the rest of the world.

Indeed, today I wish to speak specifically about the U.S. relationship
to the Western Hemisphere and how that relationship affects our place
in the world.

     Our Administration's policy toward the Western Hemisphere is a
new policy that nonetheless has its roots in the best accomplishments
of President Clinton's predecessors who attempted to define relations
between the United States and the other nations of this hemisphere.

     In his 1933 Inaugural, Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed the "Good
Neighbor" policy, commenting later, while in Montevideo, that "...we
have not yet completed our task. New conditions will continue to
arise...."

     Conditions have indeed changed many times since then. But the
twin pillars of the Good Neighbor policy -- respect for sovereignty
and cooperation with inter-American institutions founded on absolute
respect for the dignity of every American nation -- are as important
today as they were more than half a century ago.

     Three decades after Roosevelt, a young American President, John
F. Kennedy, called upon all the people of the Americas to join "in a
new Alliance for Progress -- Alianza par el Progreso -- a vast
cooperative effort, unparalleled in magnitude and nobility of
purpose."

     Now, on behalf of another young President, I reaffirm the
principles on which these two policies are based. Building on the work
of those Presidents who came before him -including President Bush --
President Clinton has worked with you and with Canada to fashion this
free trade area which will increase opportunities for all our people.

     In so doing, he has brought the best of our old principles into
the realities of our new and different times.

     NAFTA embodies a principle at the bedrock of President Clinton's
view of relations among states: that they should be sovereign equals.

     This view affects not just trade. This view provides the great
alternative to competition in forms that lead to intemational
divisiveness and even to war.

     In recent years, the beliefs I describe have been under
attack. There was bitter debate in the United States about NAFTA. You
heard many harsh things said about our Administration and your
country. One of the myths we had to discredit was the notion that free
trade agreements are impossible between countries in different stages
of economic development.

     Some of the statements made during our bruising debate were
fueled by lack of information and insensitivity. Others, however, were
motivated by genuine concem for the implications of the
Agreement. Within my own party there was opposition from some of the
most principled and internationally-minded people in political life.

     I think they were wrong. But there is no mistaking their
sincerity and their concern for the welfare of both United States and
Mexican workers. And so I say to opponents of the Agreement in both
countries, in the words from Ecclesiastes, "to every thing there is a
season, and a time to every purpose under heaven," and this is the
time to heal.

     Meanwhile, remember what else has happened besides the divisive
debate. You saw the final vote. You saw the people of the United
States come to a decision. We could have voted against a closer
relationship with our neighbor. We voted for one.

     No longer are we the "distant neighbors" of one recent book about
our two countries. We have caught the crest of a wave. We now need to
ride that wave into the future with you and with the people of
Canada. And we will go further. Now, when we talk about trade, the
word "we" will mean something new. We -- the people of the Americas --
will be able to work together to improve relations in the entire
hemisphere.

     The NAFTA debate demonstrated the importance of dispelling myths
and stereotypes conceming Latin America. It is clear to us that we
must rethink the way we deal with the new Latin America that has
emerged.

     The Clinton Administration has undertaken a broad-ranging review
of U.S. policy in Latin America as we near the 21st Century.

     As an outgrowth of this review, and because the President
believes so strongly that thinking through a new relationship should
be a joint enterprise -- on his behalf, I wish to announce today that
next year the United States will invite -- to a Westem Hemisphere
summit meeting -- the democratically-elected heads of state of North
America, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

     We will seek to make explicit the convergence of values that is
now rapidly taking place in a hemispheric community of democracies; a
community increasingly integrated by commercial exchange and shared
political values.

     It will be a meeting that we hope will codify our shared
principles and set forth a vision of economic and cultural progress
that could serve us well in the century ahead.

     We will focus on how to work in partnership with our neighbors to
find creative solutions to regional problems: improve our standard of
living, promote trade and investment, ensure collective security,
expand democratic political culture, protect the environment and
address other common concerns.

     It will not be the first time we shared a common direction. In
the early 19th century Simon Bolivar looked to the new United States'
experience as a model for those desiring independence and integration
with one another.

     We see NAFTA as another such model. We see NAFTA as a starting
point for dealing with the common challenges of the Americas.

     These problems spare no country, no region, no community in this
hemisphere. They affect our ability as a hemisphere to compete in
global markets. They affect our ability to raise the standards of
living for our citizens. They must be addressed by each country
individually. But we will all be more successful if we also find ways
to work on them together.

     Trade should be looked upon as one element of a strategy for
growth along with education, worker training, wages, environmental
protection, the survival of children, and the growth of democracy.

Can such a partnership work? We are confident it can.

     After all, our belief in sustainable development through economic
reform, trade, and democracy is rooted in the inescapable realities of
the modern world. We have arrived at a concensus about the right way
to grow: lower trade barriers, ensure that industries are competitive,
protect the environment, and compete in international markets.

     They have discovered these truths in Europe. They have discovered
these truths in the Pacific Rim.

     During the past decade, most countries here in the Americas have
moved decisively to restructure, streamline, and reform their
economies. Mexico, Argentina, and Chile have all placed their
government finances on a sound footing. They have now banished budget
deficits.

     Such reforms have produced tangible results. Where they have
taken root, inflation has plummeted. National economies have
recovered. Foreign investors, attracted by the improved economic
climate, are helping make Latin America the second fastest growing
region in the world.

     Much remains to be done in the area of economic reform. But we
are confident that our partners in the region -- and especially those
who have joined us in the partnership that is svmbolized bv NAFTA --
will continue to advance.

     Our confidence stems from another reason: the quiet revolution
taking place in Latin America that is often overlooked. There is a
move towards economic integration, marked by free trade agreements.

Ten years ago, who would have thought that free trade agreements could
be concluded between Mexico and Chile or Colombia and Venezuela? Or
that Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay could have set aside
their historic differences and created MERCOSUR? Now the Central
American countries are accelerating their march toward regional trade
and sustainable development, as they told President Clinton at the
White House yesterday.

     These agreements represent a commitment to the principles of open
trade and are a recognition of the importance of economic reform and
integration as agents of positive change in Latin America. Trade
within the hemisphere has become an important driver of economic
growth for Latin American nations.

     Indeed two-thirds of export growth in Latin American countries in
the last five years has been among themselves or with the United
States.

     At the same time, Latin America resumed its place of historical
importance as a market for U.S. goods, becoming our fastest growing
export market between 1987 and 1992.

     These developments are harbingers of a future in which the United
States' commercial and financial future will become increasingly
entwined with the Americas -- not only with Mexico and Canada, but
with the countries of Central America, the Caribbean, and South
America.

NAFTA can help bridge the North-South gap: drawing on the best
resources and skills within the hemisphere, it will strengthen the
ability of each of us to compete in world markets.

     Already, hundreds of thousands of citizens of both our countries
know this. They are not just those who are on this platform. They are
the people who already share in the partnership of our two countries.

And trade is by no means the only vehicle we can pursue cooperatively
to better the living standards of our citizens. The NAFTA debate in
the United States made clear that increasing economic integration
raises many more issues than just trading rules. There are also common
social needs we must address.

     Prime among them is the drug problem, which undermines the health
and security of all the countries in our hemisphere.

     * NAFTA will free up border resources engaged in monitoring
commercial activity, allowing a better focus on drug control.

     * President Salinas has announced a new Anti-Narcotics Institute
to provide the latest information technologies to Mexican police in
their interdiction efforts.

     * The Andean initiative represents the United States' effort to
provide, through trade, alternative means of employment to
drug-producing countries.

     No issue, though, is more important to us all in this hemisphere
and in the entire world than the environment.

     I take as my premise this inescapable conclusion: that human
activities are needlessly causing grave and perhaps irreparable damage
to the global environment.

     The earth's forests are being destroyed at the rate of one
football field's worth every second. An enormous hole has been opening
in the ozone layer, reducing the earth's ability to protect life from
deadly ultraviolet radiation.

     Living species are dying at an unprecedented rate. More and more
chemical wastes seep down to poison ground water -- and up to destroy
the atmosphere's delicate balance. Huge quantities of carbon dioxide,
methane and other greenhouse gases dumped in the atmosphere trap heat
and raise global temperatures.

     We must act -- and act now.

     NAFTA and the environmental side agreement create an opportunity
to work together to improve the environment of North America. With the
creation of the Commission on Environmental Cooperation we will be
able to jointly develop solutions, to prevent future environmental
problems, and involve the public of both our countries in our efforts
to protect the environment.

     With the U.S. and Mexico working together we can clean up the
border we share. With the creation of the North American Development
Bank and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, together we
will be able to mobilize the substantial resources necessary to solve
the environmental problems of our shared border.

     Recent World Bank commitments provide several billion dollars to
help the Government of Mexico improve the environment throughout this
country.

      *More broadly, multilateral development banks can be a catalyst
for environmental protection throughout the hemisphere, especially in
promoting sustainable economic development through reforestation and
river cleanup projects. The Inter-American Development Bank is
spearheading this effort with its Tiete River Basin Decontamination
Project in Brazil.

      *The private sector also can play a large role through
public-private partnerships. Our EPA is working with the
U.S. Environmental Training Institute to provide substantial training
opportunities for Mexican environmental professionals in Mexico. It
will mean access to U.S. cutting-edge environmental technology and
services for Mexico's growing environmental industry. We can stimulate
constructive business-to-business exchanges in this way. President
Clinton and I hope to see them spread throughout Latin America.

     Is this enough? Hardly. These are first steps. We will need to
work as partners with each other -- and with non-govemmental
organizations -- to make these side agreements work.

     Still, remember this: NAFTA and its side agreements constitute
the first major trade negotiation to go beyond commodities and capital
to take into account such factors as workers' rights and the
environment. That is a revolution in itself.

     I have talked of economic and environmental benefits. But I
believe there are other benefits as well. Civilization in Mexico, for
example, was rich and advanced long before Europeans knew it
existed. NAFTA promotes the free flow of ideas and art across borders
and that is a benefit for the entire hemisphere. And by promoting
cultural exchange and economic decentralization, it promotes
democracy.

     We have made a beginning. It is the hope of the United States
that we can move beyond "Good Neighbors" and "Alliance" -- and beyond
NAFTA -- to a point in history in which all of us under democracy, all
of us who treasure democracy ... can adv ance the wellbeing of our
people. Geography has made us neighbors. And the swiftly changing
circumstances of the modern world are forging out of our common dreams
a new Westem Hemisphere Community of Democracies.

     We, the sovereign states of the Americas, share the same
obligation -- to create nations in which all have equal access to
land, jobs, and education -- and together we dream of a future in
which no person is exploited for the well-being of a few.

     This is our vision. A vision born in our revolutionary
heritage. Today we can begin to pursue those goals together.

     The formation of such a community of democracies from nations so
varied in culture and history will not be easy. But we share a common
ground. We are all children of revolutions -- rebels against the
colonialism of the Old World. Earlier I mentioned Simon Bolivar. In
the United States, we feel intense pride that the man known as the
Great Liberator carried a portrait of George Washington in his pocket
during his struggles. During World War II, most of the American
nations stood together as allies in the struggle to preserve freedom
from foreign tyranny. Today, we share a common dedication to national
independence, social justice, and economic progress.

     We live in a hopeful time. Who, a decade ago, would have believed
that Nelson Mandela would be free? That Yitzhak Rabin and Yassir
Arafat would shake hands on the White House lawn and usher in a new
era of peace? Or that Germans on both sides would take pickaxes to the
Berlin Wall?

     Bolivar, writing from exile, said, "The veil has been torn
asunder. We have already seen the light and it is not our desire to be
thrust into the darkness." These thoughts inspire hope in our hearts.

     In our time, the light has again entered our hemisphere.

And so I urge you in Mexico and throughout our hemisphere: as we
approach this Third Millennium, to join us in a partnership. Let us
join as equals -- El respeto al derecho ajeno es la paz.

     Our two countries have been shaped by so many who have gone
before us, whether those who wrote a Constitution in boarding houses
that sweltering summer in Philadelphia or those who, in a tiny church
183 years ago, heard Father Hidalgo's Grito de Dolores.

     Today, in this place, let us resolve that we will move forward
together tQ shape our future.

     Let us aspire to a Western Hemisphere Community of Democracies.

     Let us overcome our obstacles so the New World will again serve
as a glistening beacon of freedom and progress to all the globe.

     Muchas Gracias.