Associated Press
October 3, 2001
By Lisa J. Adams

MEXICO CITY -- President Vicente Fox of Mexico will visit President Bush in Washington next week to show his nation's support for the U.S. war on terror.

Congress approved Fox's one-day trip to Washington late Tuesday -- as is required by Mexico's constitution -- but a date has not been set. A spokesman said the two presidents were trying to coordinate their schedules.

Despite Mexico's political and economic ties with its northern neighbor, it has been one of the most hesitant of the U.S. allies to express full support for Washington's latest fight in part because of a long-standing policy of international nonintervention.

Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, Fox declared his "complete solidarity" with the United States. But since then, he and his advisers have sent mixed messages about how far their support will go.

Interior Secretary Santiago Creel urged caution on Sept. 26, saying Mexico should never subordinate its interests to those of the United States. An hour later, Foreign Secretary Jorge Castaneda called for cooperation, telling Congress that if Mexico is to be a key player on the world stage, it must make the U.S. battle against terrorists its own.

Politicians and analysts have criticized the unfocused response.

"This is not healthy," German Sierra, an opposition senator who heads the foreign relations committee, told the Reforma newspaper for Tuesday's edition. "The quibbles within the Cabinet have created a lot of confusion."

George Grayson, a Mexico expert at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va., said Fox himself is responsible: He first declared unconditional support for the United States and later added various caveats about protecting Mexico's national interests.

"Had Mexico formed a committee that had worked for six months to devise the most boneheaded response" to Bush's call for a worldwide attack on terrorism, "they couldn't have done a better job than Castaneda and Creel and Fox did," Grayson said.