Evening star., 1946-12-01
|AIeman Takes Office
As New President
OF Mexico Today
BY the Associated Press

MEXICO CITY, Nov. Miguel
Aleman, a genial, self confident law
yer and politician. will take office
tomorrow as the first civilian presi-
dent in Mexico's history and launch
an ambitious program OF industrial
development in which the gates are
thrown wide open to private enter
prise.
The platform on which the 43-
year r-old leader was elected July Z
contains this statement. General
economic development is primarily
! the field OF private initiative. Only
indispensable fields undeveloped by
lprivate enterprise will be sponsored
| by the state"
He will be inaugurated as the ma
tion's second youngest president.
Among the 5000 witnesses in the
white marble Palacio de Bellas
Artes, cultural center of the country,
will be outgoing President Manuel
Ayila Camacho.
Industrialization at Top.
While industrial development OF
Mexico ranks uppermost in the
presidents program, the immediate
concern is the development and.
modernization Of agriculture. Mr..
Aleman Is aiming at a. high mark
in the six years he will hold office
a five-fold increase in production on
every tillable acre.
To reach this goal the government
plans to open 3,500000 acres of new
irrigable land in the next six years
and bring water to another 100000
acres now being farmed but thirst
ing for moisture.
Mexico imports one-sixth Of the
wheat, corn and sugar her people
consume and with careful planning
the government hopes to cut of the
imports in a years time.
Road building is aimed at solving
the problem of tying isolated pro-
ducing sections to their markets and
the government plans to spend $780,
000, 900 in three years for power sta
tions and high tension lines in order
to bring electricity to 100000
Mexicans, three-fourths Of the pop
ulations.
Stress on Heavy Industry.
In industrial development the i'm
mediate emphasis is on heavy indus
try to convert ores and petroleum at
home, improvement of mining, build
ing of new refineries and pipelines
for the state-owned petroleum in
dustry, undermining of textile plants,
encouraging of industrial chemical
production and stimulating the meat
packing industry.
While private enterprise is ex-
pected to shoulder most of the in
dustrialization costs the government
will present Congress with probably
the largest budget in history to cover
a public works program more ambi-
tious than any yet conceived in
Mexico.
Mexicans say 1t cannot be
financed without negotiation of
huge foreign loan, and believe steps
have been taken in the United
States to float one.
Break in Tradition.
Mr.. Aleman, a mild, smiling man,
has been in politics for is years,
starting as a legal expert in the
Agricultural Department. He is mar
ried and has two children, Beatriz,
13, and Miguel, II, who attended
school in San Antonio, Tex, last
year.
Mr.. Aleman is a break in the ira
dition of rule by military men since |
the days of Cortes, the Spanish
conqueror. When Mexico finally
began the march toward democracy
with the revolution of So years ago,
it proved to be a road damp with
blood. But the election of Mr.. Ale
man, who is far to the right Of the
Socialism of Lazaro Cardenas, pre-
decessor of Avila Camacho, was
definitely peaceful.
The official count in Mexico's
first secret ballot was 1,786, ,901 votes
for AIeman, candidate for the Off
cial Institutional Revolutionary
Party PRD, and 443,357 for his
nearest rival, Ezequiel Padilla of
the Mexican Democratic Party
(PRMo.
Avila to Visit Roosevelt Grave.
President Avila Camacho told
Josephus Daniels, former American
Ambassador to Mexico, that the
two things he wishes to do after
retiring from Office tomorrow are
to visit the Roosevelt grave at Hyde
Park, N. Y, and to visit Mr.. Daniels
at his home in Raleigh, N. C.
Mr.. Daniels called on the Presi-
dent at the National Palace today.
The ex-AmbasSador Is here as
Mexico's guest for the inaugura-
ton of President Aleman. He was
Ambassador during the 1940 cleo
ton and Inauguration of Avila
Camacho.
Mr.. Daniels brought the retiring
President personal greetings from
President Truman, Gov. Cherry of
North Carolina and former Gov.
and Mrs. Broughton.