Content area
Full Text
Mexico is back: aftermath of the Colosio assassination.
The March 23 assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio in Tijuana shocked Mexico and the world. Colosio, who was the Institutional Revolutionary Party's (PRI) presidential candidate, was almost certain to become Mexico's next leader. Many fear that Colosio's death could lead to instability and financial chaos in Mexico. But Mexico's political and economic institutions, strengthened by the reforms of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, were resilient enough to withstand this turbulent chapter in Mexican history. Mexico's determination to stay on its current course was demonstrated by the Salinas Administration's announcement that Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon would be the new PRI candidate and that the elections would be held as scheduled on August 21.
ANALYSIS
In fact, the Colosio murder might well consolidate the country and forge a greater sense of national unity. Salinas has deplored the act of violence and called upon the Mexican people to find constructive and peaceful solutions to the country's political problems. There is a sense of national indignation that acts of violence have reached this extreme - an extreme that has not been witnessed in Mexico since the 1928 murder of General Alvaro Obregon, the country's president-elect. The Colosio assassination, combined with the ongoing rebellion by the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, are challenges for the Salinas government, but they will be overcome.
Colosio - a popular candidate
The 44-year-old Colosio was the ideal man to continue this modernization process and advance Salinas' successful free market and democratic reform programs. He was a talented and popular politician whose popularity was rising as his presidential campaign strengthened. As the former President of the PRI and Secretary for Social Development (SEDESOL), Colosio knew well Mexico's most pressing needs, including democratic reforms, human rights,...