Pemex

MEXICO CITY -- The gasoline explosions that killed 200 people in Guadalajara have so tainted the national oil company's image that it may serve as a wedge to open Mexico's oil industry to foreign investment -- one of the principal goals of the Bush administration.Petroleos Mexicanos, the national oil company known as Pemex, is the third-biggest foreign provider of crude oil to the United States. The Bush administration fears Mexican exports will dry up if it does not get a heavy infusion of capital.

THOSE 2,000 rebels who emerged from the rain forest of southern Mexico two months ago and declared war on the government of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari have forced at least the promise of election reform and the recognition by the ruling party that many Mexicans live in crushing poverty.These are remarkable developments in light of Mr. Salinas' initial order to "clean out the jungle area of miscreant extra-nationals," two of whom I encountered many years ago on a drive through the Chiapas highlands with my three young children.

MEXICO CITY -- The governor of Jalisco state was replaced yesterday, becoming the highest-ranking victim of the political scandal surrounding the April 22 sewer explosions that killed 193 people in Guadalajara.A senior Mexican official said Gov. Guillermo Cosio Vidaurri was virtually fired by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. "These are not times of comfort for persons who hold public positions," the president had noted in a Guadalajara-related speech Wednesday.The 62-year-old governor had been picketed by survivors who contend that the government should have evacuated the Reforma section of Mexico's second-largest city after residents reported smelling gasoline and solvent fumes.

MEXICO CITY -- The gasoline explosions that killed 200 people in Guadalajara have so tainted the national oil company's image that it may serve as a wedge to open Mexico's oil industry to foreign investment -- one of the principal goals of the Bush administration.Petroleos Mexicanos, the national oil company known as Pemex, is the third-biggest foreign provider of crude oil to the United States. The Bush administration fears Mexican exports will dry up if it does not get a heavy infusion of capital.

THOSE 2,000 rebels who emerged from the rain forest of southern Mexico two months ago and declared war on the government of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari have forced at least the promise of election reform and the recognition by the ruling party that many Mexicans live in crushing poverty.These are remarkable developments in light of Mr. Salinas' initial order to "clean out the jungle area of miscreant extra-nationals," two of whom I encountered many years ago on a drive through the Chiapas highlands with my three young children.

Scapegoats are important. You cannot have a disaster without one. Sometimes that helps, and sometimes hinders, the search for the root causes, the effort to prevent recurrence.Chicago's Mayor Richard M. Daley fired three officials for the April 13 pouring of the Chicago River through a 50-mile tunnel system into downtown basements, knocking Chicago for a loop. He has had the heads of the acting transportation chief, the chief bridge engineer and a project engineer and is seeking removal of two others.

MEXICO CITY -- Bowing to national and international pressures, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari closed a polluting oil refinery yesterday, while U.S. officials for the first time confirmed that loan guarantees to the state oil monopoly -- a major player in the anti-smog campaign -- could go as high as $6 billion.The refinery closing and the loan guarantees come at a time when both countries are under mounting pressure to do something meaningful about Mexico's horrendous pollution problems.

MEXICO CITY -- If you think paying $3.50 for a gallon of gasoline in the United States is a hardship, consider Mexico, where motorists are really getting stiffed. Nine in 10 gasoline stations in Mexico have rigged their pumps to dispense less than what their meters promise, according to federal authorities, who calculated that purloined petrol cost consumers at least $1 billion last year. Random checks have revealed that the average retailer, known here as a gasolinero, skims a little more than a liter of gasoline for every 20 sold.

MONTERREY, Mexico -- The Bush administration yesterday announced a proposed $1.5 billion loan guarantee aimed at increasing Mexico's dwindling oil reserves.The announcement by Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady capped a two-day meeting between Mr. Bush and President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.Both presidents saw no impediments to a proposed U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement that is expected to be negotiated after getting a congressional go-ahead in the spring.Mr. Salinas de Gortari has expressed fears that an agreement might be defeated in Congress as the United States heads into a recession.

MEXICO CITY -- Responding to pressure from the United States, Mexico's central bank announced yesterday that it was raising already high short-term interest rates a further 10 percentage points, pushing the rate on some government debts to 50 percent.U.S. officials have insisted that Mexico tighten its credit substantially and reduce its money supply as part of the conditions of $20 billion in U.S. assistance proposed by the Clinton administration.An official at the Mexican central bank said yesterday that the decision to increase interest rates "arose from the negotiations between Mexico and the United States" continuing in Washington, and the sharp declines in the value of the peso at the end of last week.

MEXICO CITY -- The governor of Jalisco state was replaced yesterday, becoming the highest-ranking victim of the political scandal surrounding the April 22 sewer explosions that killed 193 people in Guadalajara.A senior Mexican official said Gov. Guillermo Cosio Vidaurri was virtually fired by President Carlos Salinas de Gortari. "These are not times of comfort for persons who hold public positions," the president had noted in a Guadalajara-related speech Wednesday.The 62-year-old governor had been picketed by survivors who contend that the government should have evacuated the Reforma section of Mexico's second-largest city after residents reported smelling gasoline and solvent fumes.

WASHINGTON -- An ugly squabble prevented Canadian, Mexican and U.S. negotiators from concluding the North American Free Trade Agreement yesterday. But participants in the talks remained optimistic that they would be able to strike a comprehensive deal soon.The blowup came late Thursday night when Mexico made a new demand, trying to reserve all contract work from Pemex, the huge national oil company, for Mexican companies.Although Mexican officials deny it, several people said the move provoked an angry reaction from Carla A. Hills, the U.S. trade representative, and led to immediate adjournment for the night.