Mexican drug-use bill to be toughened

By S. Lynne Walker
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
May 3, 2006

MEXICO CITY – Stung by opposition to a bill that would permit the possession of small quantities of narcotics, a top Mexican senator said yesterday the legislation will be toughened to reassure critics that Mexico is not opening its doors to drug users.

President Vicente Fox's government has been bombarded with questions over the past five days from U.S. and Mexican officials who worry that Mexico is backing away from drug enforcement.

Fox's spokesman said the president will sign the bill, but there are signals that Fox may be distancing himself from the legislation, which his office said differs from the proposal he sent to Congress in January 2004.

When San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders met yesterday with Luis Cabrera, the Mexican consul general in San Diego, Cabrera “started by saying: 'First, you need to know the president hasn't signed the bill. It's just a bill,' ” said mayoral spokesman Fred Sainz.

“When you lead with that, you know your argument has problems,” Sainz said.