Clinton Escapes From Issues in Latin America

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Whether poring over ancient artifacts, singing Spanish tunes with Mexican children or touring a tropical rain forest during a steady shower, President Clinton has managed to escape the pressures of the issues facing him on his Latin American journey and relax.

The president’s enthusiasm for his travels was especially evident in Mexico, the first stop of his weeklong journey. Addressing the people of Mexico in a nationally televised speech, Clinton said: “Me encanta Mexico”--I am enchanted with Mexico.

This sentiment could not have seemed more sincere as he lingered at a state dinner there, exuberantly viewed the spectacular Aztec ruins at Teotihuacan and repeatedly told audiences about the honeymoon he and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton shared in Mexico 22 years earlier.

Clinton’s kicked-back demeanor contrasted with the tense state of affairs between the United States and the countries whose leaders he was meeting. But even in the midst of difficult talks with Latin American leaders, Clinton managed to smooth rough waters.

In Mexico, he finessed talks on issues as prickly as the flow of drugs to the United States--apparently without offending his hosts.

The winning tactic, Mexican officials and observers said, was the emphasis Clinton put on the responsibility the U.S. bears, because of domestic demand, for the drug problem.

At a summit of Central American leaders in Costa Rica, Clinton appeared to win over his counterparts despite their ardent complaints about a new U.S. immigration law. They fear that the measure, which Clinton signed, will result in mass deportations of their citizens living in the U.S. and cause economic instability in their countries.

Clinton eased their concerns by saying he will argue to Congress that Central American immigrants deserve special consideration because so many of them were forced from their homes by the unrest in the region in the 1980s.

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Clinton appeared to relish the chance to rub shoulders with foreign leaders.

During a drizzly event Friday in a virgin rain forest near this Costa Rican capital, Clinton traded quips about the weather with President Jose Maria Figueres and shared a soggy bearhug with him after their speeches.

With Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, a fellow alumnus of Yale University, Clinton “struck up a very familiar way of conversing” based on a “lot of affection,” White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said.

The two leaders were seen sharing impressions of the exhibits at the National Museum of Anthropology, singing popular Spanish songs in the town of Tlaxcala and riding in a Volkswagen bus viewing the sights of Teotihuacan.

Reforma, a prominent Mexican daily, commented on the good vibes between Clinton and Zedillo. “The two presidents clicked in their [private] meeting,” the newspaper wrote.

The newspaper reported that, when the appointed end to their bilateral meeting came--45 minutes into the session--their senior assistants interrupted them in Zedillo’s office in Los Pinos, the presidential palace, to remind them that their time was up. The presidents jokingly chased their advisors away and blamed them for scheduling so little time for the meeting.

The session continued for another 45 minutes. White House officials confirmed the episode.

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Clinton’s exuberance for Mexico was not lost on its people, who seemed to appreciate the way he often mentioned beloved cultural figures and historical heroes.

Clinton’s easy humor during his two-hour tour of the anthropology museum showed his ease with Zedillo and his comfort about the trip.

At one point, a curator pointed out two misshapen human skulls. The ancient Olmec civilization, the curator explained, pressed young children’s skulls between boards in a beauty ritual.

When a member of Clinton’s entourage asked the president what impact such treatment would have on early childhood development, an issue of particular interest to the first couple, Clinton replied:

“It depends on whether you read to them and sing to them while you’re squeezing their heads.”

Imagining the dialogue between an Olmec parent and child, Clinton said: “I’m squeezing your head because I love you.”

Clinton then told Zedillo what his own mother told him when she spanked him as a child.

“My mother said, ‘This hurts me more than it hurts you,’ ” Clinton said, smiling. “It’s the only thing she told me I didn’t believe.”