>> From the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
[ Silence ]
>> Mr. President, Dr. Kissinger, members of the Cabinet both
of Mexico and America, Congress members
of Congress, ladies and gentlemen.
We are honored that President Felipe Calderon of Mexico is with us
to deliver tonight's Kissinger Lecture.
This is something previously given at the Library of Congress only
by former American Secretaries of State and alternatively
by former heads of a foreign state or government.
Dr. Kissinger delivered the first of these lectures to some
of his friends and supporters who have made this event possible.
President Calderon is the first sitting head of state
to deliver this unique international lecture here on Capitol Hill.
And we are deeply grateful that he has found time to fit this
into his exceptionally busy presidency.
He has also graciously offered to answer questions
and the audience may submit them succinctly in writing to the ushers
for our associate librarian for Library Services, Roberta Shaffer,
to post at the end of his talk.
And along this way, we, in this, the oldest Federal Culture Institution
of the United States, have been trying to help honor repass
of our far older Mexican neighbor.
We have preserved and made it accessible for more
than 13 million Latin-American items of all sorts in our collections,
the old special reading room and one
of our two largest permanent exhibits
in this building are centered on Mexico, and we are cooperating
with the leading Mexican institutions
to virtually repatriate online.
They heed it to widely scattered magnificent codices
that tell the story of our early Mexico.
President Calderon is a statesman with deep democratic values
and a positive vision for the future of Mexico.
He has been in our present time, the builder of bridges between the past
and the future of a great people.
He has dramatically expanded both education at all levels
and popular access to healthcare throughout his country.
Within-- at the same time successfully navigating a growing
economy through a difficult period.
Mr. President, we admire your courage in campaigning the strength
and human security and the rule of law.
Your help developed unprecedented levels of cooperation
and shared responsibilities between your country and ours.
You symbolized and you have strengthened the uplifting
aspirations of our good neighbors to the South.
Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome a great American North and South,
the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon.
[ Applause ]   >> Thank you.
[ Applause ]   Thank you.
[Applause] Thank you.   Thank you.
Dr. James Billington, Librarian of the Cong--
of Congress, Dr. Henry Kissinger, former Secretary of States
of the United States, Honorable members of Congress,
distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It is an honor to be with you in this magnificent Library
of Congress, a symbol of knowledge and wisdom.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to James Billington,
the Librarian of Congress and to the members
of the Kissinger Chair Steering Committee
for this extraordinary opportunity.
And of course, thank you Dr. Kissinger for being with us tonight.
Thank you Madam Lagarde, Managing Director of IMF,
thank you Secretary Janet Napolitano, thanks to all of you.
The world we live in faces unprecedented global challenges,
very different from those Henry Kissinger saw
in his time as a Secretary of State.
But then, we have a world order marked by the Cold War,
and information about places faraway was scarce.
The internet and cellphones did not exist
and computers were a privilege granted to a handful of scientists,
big corporations, and some government agencies.
Today, not only has the Berlin Wall falling signaling the end
of a new era, but there has also been a revolution
in telecommunication.   Computers are now everywhere
and the internet has shortened distances between people.
Environmental awareness is widespread as it has been proved
that climate change is a clear and present danger.
Ice at the earth's poles and snow on mountains are melting
and the sea level is rising.
And if anyone ever doubt it that we are all passengers on the same ship,
it is now an incontestable fact.
Nations are becoming more interdependent.
Individual actions and omissions generate universal impacts
with consequences for everyone.
Some of the oldest challenges like hunger and poverty persist.
Others such as the cold war have disappeared
and new challenges have arisen such as terrorism,
organized crime, or climate change.
The world today is a complex organism
in which all nations are interlinked.
As Marshall McLuhan pointed out, the human family now exists
under conditions of a global village.
Through our extended senses, we experienced events as far away
as the other side of the world as if we were there
in the same physical space.   This new world needs a new order.
This implies the building of a new model of global governance,
more inclusive and more democratic.
But above all, it demands clear and responsible leadership according
to the times and according to the capabilities of each nation.
And without a doubt, the United States has a lot
to contribute in this regard.
Global challenges require redefining the very concept
of national interest.
This new global reality shapes national interest, and thus,
it is in the national interest to address global challenges.
Failing to understand this reality will mean that leaders
and legislators around the world keep making mistakes, omissions,
and irresponsible decisions with fatal consequences.
I will address tonight some of these issues from the point of view
of an emerging economy by sharing with you Mexico's recent experience
and global responsibility.
Let me begin with the issue of the global economy.
[ Pause ]   A major power shift is on their way.
The Western economies, once centers of economic power are now
at the epicenter of the crisis.
Emerging economies are becoming the new drivers of growth.
This year makes a good year, the G20, in a most challenging context.
The main source of concern is still the eurozone crisis
and we still lack at definite solution despite months of try.
Restoring economic stability
and growth has become the main priority of the G20 agenda.
A lesson we learned from past crisis
in Latin America is upgrading an economic back
on track demands strong and decisive international responses
to recover credibility and confidence.
And the key is to recover confidence.
That is the name of the game.
The key is to recover confidence by stabilizing expectations
because the problem is that the laws of confidence is immediate,
but recovering it takes really hard work.
So in order to deal with this with confidence, it is crucial to carry
out a diagnosis that is both honest and credible for the people
in each country, to speak clearly about the cause, and to make sure
that the adjustment is large enough and implemented
in a rapid and a bold fashion.   This is when external support
and international cooperation become crucial.
Learning from our experiences, we must provide credibility
to countries with confidence problems as is the case of some
of the most important European economies today.
In addition to credible and bold policy adjustment, it is necessary
to create a firewall to prevent the spread of panic
and protect the countries that are solvent, but lack a liquidity
which is the case of Italy or Spain.
And to evaluate how much progress we are making in this, let me tell you
that just in December 2011, we faced high levels of market volatility,
significant erosion of confidence, and expectations
of near future economic stress all mainly associated
with the debt crisis in Europe.
The G20's agenda established as one of its key priorities
to improve the International Financial Architectures.
This could be attained by expanding the global financial resources
available for crisis prevention and resolutions
in particularly through the IMF.
In January, while in Davos, we pointed out that the firewall,
more than the source of money itself, is a source of confidence.
The paradox is the following: the more money you put in the firewall,
the more confidence you create, and the more confidence you create,
the less money you will need to use.
So the conclusion is the more money you commit,
the less money you spend.   But the opposite is also true.
The less money you put into the firewall and the more you hesitate
and delay dissolution, the more money it will cost for everyone.
European countries deliver recently on their commitments
and made a very relevant effort in this direction last month.
And last Friday here in Washington through the G20 process together
with the IMF, we secure firm commitments to increase
by over 430 billion dollars the resources made available to IMF.
To put these in perspective,
the amount will double the fund current available lending capacity.
And this is especially noteworthy.
We consider that the United States is not participating
in this effort by first time.
I would like to emphasize why I believe the agreement last Friday is
relevant beyond simply the amount of resources committed.
First, the agreement was rich and made possible
to different policy actions undertaken
and committed by different countries.
Second, their resources were committed by countries
from all continents and regions, G20 and known G20 countries,
emerging and developed countries.
Third, even those countries that are not committing resources
at least formally, they have found ways to support stability
and growth through other means.
Taken together, these are the elements that give context
and meaning to the over 430 billion dollars committed to the IMF.
The relevance goes beyond simple numbers
and into the process some policy action
that made possible the broad support behind this successful outcome.
Nonetheless, recovering global economic stability is only one part
of the equation.
The other part is restoring economic growth.
And there are various ways to this.
One, promote structural reforms to improve the competitiveness
of our economies and the productivity of them.
Two, strengthen trade and global trade.
It is easy to forget that trade brings benefits to everyone,
trade is able to generate growth and employment, consumers win,
workers win, producers win, businesses win, we all win.
In Mexico, we strongly believe in economic freedom, in free trade,
and free investment as effective ways to promote economic growth,
employment, and prosperity.
Since 1994, we have been a dynamic part of NAFTA,
an initiative that every Henry Kissinger has correctly described
as the most innovative American policy toward Latin America
Indeed, NAFTA has changed Mexico for good.
Before NAFTA for instance, Mexico's total export were 50 billion dollars
per year.
Last year, they reached 350 million on exports.
So today, Mexico is exporting more manufacture goods
than all the other nations including Brazil and Latin America combined.
And every year, Mexican buys more American goods
than Japan or China together.
Mexico is the second largest importer
of American products in the world.
And our market share in United States has been rising
from 10 percent of imports in 2005 to almost 13 percent last year.
Free trade has made our economy more competitive and stronger.
I believe that free trade explains why Mexico has been able
to weather the global economic storm much better than anyone expected.
Three, investing in infrastructure in developed
and above all in developing countries.
Infrastructure projects create jobs in the short and in the long run
for more regional growth and improved competitiveness.
I know that we need a lot of money.
But the good news is that there is a huge availability of private funding
and that is the case of the pension funds,
sovereign funds, or insurance funds.
They are looking for a long-term profitable investments
and that is precisely what infrastructure projects are,
long-term profitable and of course, absolutely sure.
What we need today in order to promote infrastructure is
to have financially and technically buyable projects and of course,
a great deal of legal certainty for investors.
That is why policies based on nationalism, statism,
or expropriation are so damaging
because they scare off any investment.
And if we are able to match long-term liabilities,
which is the case of retirement pension obligations
with long-term assets such as investment in infrastructure,
highways, and others, we will have a perfect formula
to restart economic growth.
When I started my term in 2006, public and private investment
in infrastructure in Mexico representing around 3 percent
of GDP per year, which is more or less the average in OECD.
Today, we are investing at unprecedented levels
of around 5 percent of GDP something
that Barack has helped our country in difficult times.
In short, global economy recovery depends on more trade,
more investment, and more economic freedom and [inaudible].
Finding a way out of the economic crisis is now the most pressing
concern for governments and firms.
But these shall not make us neglect the problems
That is why--   [ Pause ]
That is why Mexico included all their global issues
as top priorities for the G20.   One is food security.
For Mexico, it is essential that the G20 addresses the charitable misery
in which billions of people like today.
Food security is an issue that we want in the international spotlight.
The poorest families in the world allocate half
of their income to food.
However, food prices have more than doubled in the last decade
and this alone has led to a dramatic increase
in global poverty around the world.
And this has had not only economic or social impact,
but also political consequences.
For instance, some journalist or conventional wisdom suggests
that the use of social networks like Twitter
or Facebook was the driving force behind the Arab Spring.
In my opinion, however, what really took people
to the streets was bread.
The price of wheat more than doubled in the 6 months prior
to the most significant demonstrations in the North
of Africa and you can check it out.   The causes of the dramatic increase
in food prices are not impossible to address.
Yes, we understand that several economies are growing
and the global demand for commodities,
food included, are growing as well.
However, we can and we must do something about climate change
to protect our crops and we can and we must invest
in agricultural technology to increase food production.
And we can, and we must put an end to financial speculations
in the commodity markets which is affecting the living conditions
for millions around the world.
It is also essential that we can increase healthcare investment
in social protection.
Healthcare insurance is vital for low-income families
to escape the poverty trap.
Now in Mexico, after tremendous effort,
thanks to a program called Seguro Popular or Popular Insurance
and thanks to a budget effort in order to build more
than 1,000 new hospitals or clinics and rebuild more
than 2,000 additional hospitals or clinics in Mexico,
our country is reaching universal healthcare coverage which is a goal
that has not been reached in some of the most highly developed nations.
So we are reaching the goal in which there will be a doctor, a hospital,
a treatment, and medicine for any single Mexican person.
The last priority in our G20 agenda is addressing climate change
and promoting green growth.
The potential economic consequences of climate change
in the following decades are going to compromise the future of mankind.
And here is another example
of how Mexico understood the common global good as part
of our national interest.
Climate change is affecting the whole planet.
Climate change is provoking, for instance, snowing in April
in Washington, D.C. It's provoking the most terrible drought
in Mexico ever and the most terrible drought in Texas and the middle part
in the United States ever in 180 years.
On terrible floods, the same in Mexico in Tabasco
than in other parts of the world.
And as the Intergovernmental Panel in Climate Change has shown,
if we don't invest today in order to mitigate climate change,
it will cause us several times more in the future to adapt
to its fatal consequences tomorrow.
Each country must do its part under the principle of common,
but differentiated responsibilities.   That is why for instance,
we put forward a national climate change strategy,
the first among developing countries
with specific emission reduction goals.
The COP16, the meeting that Mexico hosted in 2010 in Cancun,
was a milestone in the global fight against climate change.
The agreements reached in Cancun were an important step towards more
effective international climate finance mechanism
such as the Green Climate Fund, a Mexican proposal,
to channel resources to adaptations
and mitigation measures around the world.
The key for further progress lies in breaking down the false dilemma
between economic growth and environmental protection.
These are not mutually exclusive goals.
On the contrary, they reinforce and compliment each other.
The key is finding all those public policies
that make economic role compatible with respect for the environment
and ensuring that environmental protection does not hamper
economic growth.
Furthermore, sustainability even could be profitable
in many environmental projects.   And the key is to find out what
or what are those projects that's have a positive net present value.
And there are a lot projects that are friendly--
environmental friendly and very profitable at the same time.
So, part of the key lies in making sustainability profitable.
And finally, there is another global challenge that is a priority
for Mexico, although, it is not part of the G20 agenda.
[ Pause ]
I'm talking about the threat of organized crime.
During the second half of the 20th century,
the international security agenda was dominated by the Cold War
which could even have involved nuclear weapons in the conflicts
between two big countries.
In this century, armed confrontation between nation states has given way
to issues such as terrorism and organized crime
as the most important sources of concern,
uncertainty, and instability.
Criminal empires have not only expanded in financial
and geographical terms, they have also built sophisticated networks
of illegal activities around the globe.
One single criminal organization can control methamphetamines productions
in Los Angeles and drug distributions in Madrid,
arm smuggling in El Paso and extortion
in Ciudad Juarez just crossing the river, car thief in Guatemala
and stolen car sales in Estonia, kidnapping in Nigeria
and money laundering in Panama.
So for these organizations, boarders are just lines on a map.
Organized crime is a global problem that erodes democratic institutions
and wears down citizen's confidence.
It tears apart the social fabric and hampers economic development.
It substitutes the rule of law with the rule of fear.
Organized crime is a threat to freedom and justice
and a terrible destructive force.
Organized crime is the perfect enemy of the rule of law.
By building its networks of drug trafficking and distribution,
it fights to control territories and take the place of the state.
If, by definition, the state has the monopoly of law and law enforcement,
the monopoly of public force and the monopoly of the tax collection,
organized crime defies the state as it tries to impose its own laws,
establish its own arm forces, and collect taxes via extortion.
Mexico and in other countries in Latin America for years,
criminal organizations were allowed to grow and strengthened to a degree
that in some parts or towns in the country,
local authorities were enabled to deal with them.
Now, we are facing them with a holistic strategy
that has three main components.
First, frontal combat of the criminals, second,
rebuilding of law enforcement and justice institutions, and third,
restoring the social fabric.
We started a complete overhaul of law enforcement agencies
and institutions and build enough a new generations
of police forces at Federal level.
We also launched a historical reform of the judicial system
and we are moving to a justice system based on oral trials just
like the once you have here in the United States.
And of course, we are also tackling the social causes of crime
by investing heavily in education and health,
opening rehabilitation centers for addicts,
especially for the young people and teenagers, taking back public spaces
for our communities, and making the school safe for our children.
For example, in 5 years, Mexico built 105 new public
and tuition-free universities, and 52 new campuses
for existing institutions.
And today, 120,000 engineers graduate from college every year.
More engineers graduating every year than in Germany or United Kingdom
or Canada or Brazil or several countries.
That of course, is improving the competitiveness
of the economy as well.
In sum, we have our comprehensive strategy to address the roots
of public insecurity in Mexico.
Some examples of how this comprehensive strategy works are,
for instance, the cities of Tijuana
and to a lesser extent, Ciudad Juarez.
As you probably know, these boarder cities have been severally affected
by criminal violence in recent years.
To tackle these situations, we did not only send
in the army and the federal police.
We also deployed an unprecedented amount of resources
to restore the social fabric.
Given thousand of scholarship to students, building hospitals
and daycare centers, providing cash transfer to the poorest families,
and opening new parks, community centers,
and schools in once neglected neighborhoods.
And now, Tijuana is making a tremendous comeback
and Ciudad Juarez is going in the same direction
as both cities register a decline in violent crime.
Since 2010, homicides have gone down, 40 percent in Tijuana
and 70 percent in Ciudad Juarez.
Investment keeps coming, jobs are been created
and new opportunities are available for their people.
I have to say that Mexico has not been alone
in this effort for security.
We have found in the Unites States a spirit of renewed cooperation
to face common problems under the principles of co-responsibility.
But there is no doubt, there-- that much more must be done,
particularly when it comes to dismantling the financial operations
of criminal organizations in the US
and reducing American demand for drugs.
Money, money is what gives criminal organization their ability
to corrupt and to arm themselves to the teeth.
And no country can face this problem by itself alone,
especially in the case of small countries like Caribbean
and Central American nations.
We need to have a coordinated and both initiative to get to the root
of this problem which is the increasing demand
for illegal drugs in the United States.
And as long as this market continues growing, money will keep flowing
to the pockets of the crime lords.
We need to either find a way to significantly reduce illicit drug
in the US market, the demand, or if this is not possible,
alternative solutions to reduce the massive profits
of criminal organization must be considered.
Cutting this flow of money is a key for this strategy to succeed.
And there is another problem that has become vital for the security
of Mexico and many other nations, halting the uncontrolled sale
of assault weapons to criminal organizations.
[ Silence ]
In the last 5 years, my government seized more than 140,000 guns
and weapons from the criminals.
90 percent of them were sold in American gun shop.
One of the key factors that give criminal organization their strength
is the almost unlimited access
to assault weapons in the United States.
For Mexico, it is absolutely unfair and offensive
that so many lives are lost
because of this business whose finally the only purpose is
to fill the profits for wine industry.
There is clear evidence that when there is a sudden increase
in the availability of weapons in a country or a region,
the same in Africa, after a civil war or in El Salvador
after the guerilla, scattered for instance, in those countries
or in the East Europe after the civil war and other examples.
This new availability of weapons generates an increase
in violent levels.
The lifting of the assault weapons ban in 2004,
the year in which this law expired, has got a similar impact in Mexico
and other Latin American nations.
In short, organized crime is yet another example
of an international challenge that requires a new approach,
one base on each country assuming its responsibility
on doing its part.
Dear friends, ladies and gentlemen, as we have seen in all
of these examples, people's lives are increasingly affected
by events taking place far from home.
That is the new global reality.
Countries cannot longer save their fate in isolation.
The days when Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt, who met in Yalta,
and determined the destiny of the world, are long gone.
Increasingly, some of the biggest problems facing people today are
global in origin.
And the only possible solutions are to be found in a new set
of international arrangements under a new form of global governance.
These arrangements will have to be more inclusive, more democratic
and reflect the growing importance of emerging economies and nations.
Mexico is contributing to this goal.
My country is assuming its place in the world by taking
on its international responsibility and by working with the community
of nations to be lasting solutions to the great global challenges
of our time, the same in the economic field with the G20
or in environmental issues with the COP 16 or fighting
against organized crime
and establishing international cooperation in that field.
These also, all these challenges, also demands a new kind
of international leadership, one that is willing
to promote profound transformations, one that is willing
to face problems head on, one that is committed to promoting inclusion
and collaborative solutions.
In this context, the United States as one of the major players
in global affairs has a defining role to play,
surely assume its leadership in global issues.
Since 9/11, we have seen American foreign policy dominated
by the war on terror.
We all understand that this is a major concern
for this country and for the world.
It is for every free nation in the planet.
However, US leadership on many other important issues seems
to be missing.
For instance, US has overlooked its relationship with Latin America,
where it has a great potential for good, in crucial areas
such as development, trade, natural resources, investment,
or security, to say some of them.
And after more than a decade of weak engagement,
the United States is faced with the Latin America
that is increasingly opposed ideologically,
where anti-American feelings are growing
by political interest in the region.
This is a state of affairs that benefits nobody.
Latin American countries need the United States for its development
and modernization, and the United States needs Latin American
countries because we are your natural allies and partners.
The world also needs an America in both in environmental issues.
The world needs an America committed to combat in poverty and hunger.
The world needs an America leading efforts
against international organized crime.
The world needs an America fixing not only its own economic problems
but the global economic problems.
The United States needs to reinforce its historical role as promoter
of democracy, freedom, and progress around the world.
As Dr. Henry Kissinger once wrote, an America that confines itself
to the refinement of its domestic virtues will, in the end,
abdicate the America's security and prosperity to decisions made
by other societies in far away places.
Today, not only does the United States need the world more
than ever, but the world more than ever,
needs a fully committed United States.
Thank you for your attention.   [ Applause ]
Thank you.   [ Applause ]
Thank you.   [ Applause ]
Thank you.   [ Applause ]
[ Pause ]
>> Thank you for that wonderful talk, Mr. President.
>> Thank you.
>> I'm going to mediate the question and if you have a question,
one of our ushers will bring you a piece of paper and a pencil.
But I'll start with one myself.
>> Oh, we want to, directly, if you'll allow it.
>> You prefer direct questions?
Okay. Well while they're going then through the audience,
let me just ask you a very easy question I have.
[Laughter] What are your immediate
and then longer term post presidential plans?
>> Ah-- [Laughter] I don't know.   [Laughter] I don't know.
I'm trying to think about my term.
There are several, very long months which I need to be focused.
But after that, first, I will be with my family,
more than ever, I'd suppose.
And I hope, I will write some days, at least in December,
[Laughter] So, I mean, I suppose that I will participate
in private sector as a lawyer or adviser,
or consulting, or economies.
Probably, I will write, I will write a lot.
I will read and possible probably, I will be researching or teaching.
I don't know.
I have some projects but I would tell you later,
probably in December.   [Laughter]
>> Okay. The next question, coming from the audience,
your presidency has been marked by many examples
of Mexico taking leadership roles in a number of areas.
Environmental regulation, regional economic development, legal reform,
and a leadership role
in international relations within our hemisphere.
Can you comment on your role and goals
for relations with Cuba and Venezuela?
[Laughter]
>> Well, I need to say that people of Cuba and people
of Mexico are very close to each other.
We have more or less the same history.
We talk the same language.   We like the same music.
We share the same beautiful Caribbean Sea.
So, our policies, to different, of any nations,
especially with our neighbors and brothers.
That is the case of Cuba.
However, I do believe in principles, I do believe in democracy,
in human rights protection and freedom.
And I want to see sooner or later,
a Cuba in which those principles could live among the people.
And the way to do that could be a very controversial matter.
I know that this nation believes that, for instance,
the economic will caught this, a useful instrument to do so.
I disagree on that.
Probably the-- when Fidel Castro took off his-- no--
well, I was born after Fidel Castro took off his [laughter]
and I don't know how many years has been to embargo
but I think it's not very useful, not yet.
So, I do believe that we need to do a lot of diplomacy.
We need to do a lot of informations.
We need to strengthen relationship but at the same time,
to strengthen the fight for principles.
We need to remember the principles in which we stand forth.
So, that is moral-- that is the foreign relation policy of Mexico.
To help clear relationship with Cuba and in any other country,
to stand for principles, there is not contradiction on that.
And of course to promote human values in which we believe.
Expecting that international coordinations
and of course the willingness of Cuban people.
Cuban people, could, one day, I hope soon establish full rights,
and full democracy, and full freedom in that country.
>> One of the four pillars of the Merida Initiative addresses the need
to institutionalize the rule of law.
As a trained lawyer, this no doubt has special appeal to you.
Please give us an update on where things stand now.
Particularly, how things are working with State
and Local Governments in Mexico?   >> Well they-- the Pillars
of the Merida Initiative is the principle of core responsibility.
We are passing from the age of mistrusts and lack of confidence
for to-- towards one age of full cooperation
and disclosure between both countries.
We passed from the age of finger pointing each other
to the age of core responsibility.
And the principles of Merida Initiative are very close
to the exist of our strategy, I mentioned it already.
One is fighting criminals, fighting them really hard.
For instance, we published the Attorney General Office Published,
our list of the 37 most wanted criminals in 2009.
And today, we have seized 22, actually 23.
Last Friday, we catch the number 23rd so [laughter].
So the list is 23 right now.
Second is, and probably is what the American tourists are emphasizing
and I agree with that, is to rebuild law enforcement agencies
and institutions.
And for instance, one of the most important thing,
probably we our doing is to rebuild federal police.
When I took office, there was a very small corp,
almost 5,000, almost 6,000 policemen.
Most of them were highway patrols.
They were not formed for law enforcement, actually.
So we started to recruit young people a lot of, for instance,
people coming from the Universities.
To say that, we created a new intelligence area, information
and intelligence area, in the Federal Police.
And now there are 11,000 graduated people, young people working,
not in the corner, not in the patrol, in the vehicle.
They are working in the computer, searching and making intelligence
which has been amazing for the success of Federal Police.
I can say that we have-- thanks to the Merida Initiative
but also thanks to our own effort, the state of the art in terms
of technology prosecuting criminals.
We are building a very big database which, it has right now
like 500 millions data in order to build one single cell system,
I only call informacion criminal, crime information,
one single crime information system.   And it has been very useful for us.
And the third is to reveal social fabric as I said
through opportunities for young people, through study opportunities,
universities, health opportunities, sports and recreation opportunities.
For instance, we are not municipal authorities of course,
but we have rebuilt like 5,000 public spaces.
So you can see a corner in one neighborhood.
So we are building there, for instance,
soccer fields which is I like so much.
Actually, we organized the biggest soccer championship
in the world last year.
I can't remember the number of teams but probably several thousand
of them participated, so that more or less [inaudible].
And talking about the levels of government, the problem Mexico has,
in my opinion is, there is a lack of enforcement
between federal and local levels.
We can do a lot and the local levels will do nothing
and nothing happen in legal terms.
For instance, in several countries, they have one central
and vertical police force, which is the case for instance in Columbia.
In Columbia, there is a Policia Nacional
so General Naranjo, a very brave man.
He is able to appoint or remove any single person
at the national police.
However, if I know as I know that there is a policeman in a corner
who is receiving bribes from the criminals, me as President,
I have not the legal capability to remove that policeman.
At least I have some judicial evidence
and too complicated process to do so.
So that is part of the program, we have a one single level of federal--
the federal level, 32 state governments, some police corps
and more than 1,000 municipal police corps.
And with that is really difficult to do very coordinated actions.
And there is some kind of moral hazard because I've linked,
there is a strong in both intervention of the federal level
and a local situation and it could be Juarez or Tijuana or Acapulco
or La Laguna or Vera Cruz or Monterey or Tamaulipaz.
For the local authorities, there is some kind of moral hazard
because they don't need to reveal their own institution.
Why? Because they are the federal police and the one single purpose
that a lot of people say it up.
The solution is call for the militars,
call for the army, call for federal forces.
Yes, a lot of them used to criticize my strategies.
But that is in the morning.
But in the afternoon, they used call for more federal support.
That is, this time, it's a little ambiguous.
The responsibility, we need to fix that.
And we need to build new legal mechanism in order
to assign the responsibilities on the referred places
and the political cause
on the referred places as well, for our basis.
>> Our last question, what would you like your legacy
to be in Mexican history?
How would you like history to remember you?
>> That is difficult to say that but-- [laughter].
But I want to be remembered like a congruent [phonetic] man,
a man of principles and values, and a man who believes Mexico
and loves Mexico so much.
And of course some the-- I cannot talk a lot about the legacy because,
probably the purpose of the electoral law is
that the president don't say anything about achievements
or legacy but I think there are a lot of things
that could be very important for the country in this era.
Universal health coverage is one, the reductions of the rate
of deforestations, the increase in the rate of treatment
of reduced water, environmental purposes,
the increase of engineers graduating every year.
And probably most of the people will be remembered these years associated
with the violence and crime.
But the point is, I do believe that life or providence,
whatever you prefer decide to put the right people in the right time.
What I'm sure is that a lot of liabilities in this aspect
and the aspect of crime for instance,
one liability clearly was the lack
of a strong law enforcement institution and police corps.
That will be in the future, a very important asset for Mexico.
And that will be part
of this crucial area in era in which we live.
I needed to face a lot of challenges.
Some of them were absolutely unexpected
at the beginning of my administration.
For instance in 2006, nobody, no one expected to have the worse crisis
that the present generations remember.
It's easy to say the worse crises-- economic crises after the crises
of 29, but very few people remember that crises.
I needed to deal with the violence of the crime to new factors.
We are seeing, and it's not only Mexico, we can see the whole region
of Latin America, 'cause whatever problem just in terms of violence
and homicides, but for instance the rate of homicide in Mexico is
like 18 homicides per 100,000 people which is high.
But you can see that in Guatemala, Honduras and in El Salvador,
the rate of homicide is above 50 which is very close to the rate
of homicides in-- imagine one state in the Caribbean Sea, Puerto Rico,
an American State, almost 50.
Jamaica is 72, other nations in the region are really high.
Even Columbia with this amazing work made by the President Uribe,
who reduced a lot violence.
Actually, Columbia has today 34 homicides per 100,000 people.
Or Brazil, has 23, 24, with some cities like Rio de Janeiro with more
than 70 homicides per 100,000 people.
So it's a regional problem.
And what we are-- what we are seeing is a change in the performance
of the criminal organization.
Why? We are looking for expansion on territorial terms.
And with that expansion, where there is a new factor of the crime,
they are fighting each other, disputing territories.
And what is the reason for that.
One of the reasons is, the organized crime
in the region used be only traffickers.
Only exported, if I can say that to United States and suddenly,
they started a new part of the business, new division
and that division is retailing.
In order to retail, you need to organize a massive number of trucks.
For instance, in order to buy one ton of cocaine
for a massive land towards Colorado or any boarder state,
you need probably, I don't know, 50 people, 100 people.
But think, how many people do you need in order to distribute
and allocate the very same tons of cocaine
in a small box or one gram or less.
So you need to distribute one million doses.
In order to do that, you need to hire tremendous troop in terms
of people and you need to expand your territory and you need
to control the territory, all the smallest stores and so on.
So, it's complex to do so.   Those things are changing, probably,
a lot of people would remember this era for that but I believe
that not all but a lot of people will remember that this was the age.
This was-- these were the years in which Mexico started to change,
in terms of law enforcement and strong legal institutions.
>> Thank you very much.   [ Applause ]
>> On behalf of everyone here, immense thanks for such a rich,
thorough and honest and moving exposition.
We cannot thank you enough.
You brought Mexico closer to us and to our hearts
and could we ask you all to please remain seated while the President
and his reserved company here move out first
because they're going to go up the stairs.
And you can if you would like to at least,
express one more time our appreciation
through applause for the President.   [ Applause ]
The President wants to say one more word.
>> I'm sorry.   Well, just a couple of words.
I forgot to say talking about the legacy, but I want to be remembered
for my kids like a congruent man.
A man who was able to live according to their ideals,
and I say that because two days ago, I spoke to a new generations
of marines in Mexico and I told to these young people,
by the way one-third of them,
women by first time, I told them, you know--
[ Applause ]
Live always honoring your name, which is going
to be your one single valuable legacy to your kids.
Your name and your country, and as I say, a lot of young people here,
I would say you the same.   Don't dare to leave your ideals.
Don't dare to leave your ideals because the people
who lose their ideals almost lose meaning of their life.
So, I expect to be remembered like a man of ideas and ideals.
Thank you.   [Applause]
>> This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress.