THE new Mexican ambassador presented his credentials to the President, Mrs Robinson, at Aras an Uachtarain yesterday.
Mr Daniel Dultzin (43) told The Irish Times he saw his appointment as "a new beginning" after the controversial recall of his predecessor, Mr August in Gutierrez Canet, last June. The appointment of Mr Dultzin, who has held ambassadorial rank since 1991, upgrades the status of Mexico's Dublin embassy.
Mr Dultzin's professional standing in his foreign service underlines Mexico's wish for closer trade relations with Europe and for an improved image following last year's collapse of the peso in the first weeks of President Ernesto Zedillo's presidency - as well as soap opera scandals surrounding a ruling party in power for over two generations.
Mr Dultzin, an economist, regards Ireland as something of an economic and political developmental model for Mexico two akin countries at different speeds.
He expects negotiations for a trade co-operation agreement with the EU to begin in earnest during the remainder of the Irish presidency. A mandate for negotiations was agreed by the European Commission in June, he said. Mr Dultzin had a key role in negotiating Mexico's existing co-operation agreement with the EU.
But he acknowledged a problem of getting European attention for closer trade links, especially with four or five new EU members in the wings and when "Mexican trade is 31st" in importance for the EU. "Europe is second [after the United States] for us."
Mr Dultzin participated in the 1989 renegotiation of Mexico's vast external debt as a prelude to the neo-liberal deregulatory policies of the former president, Dr Carlos Salinas de Gortari. His previous posting was in Paris where he negotiated Mexico's membership of the OECD.
The recall of Mr Gutierrez Canet came after seven months in Ireland. It apparently followed his alleged arrangement of a lunch meeting between the exiled Dr Salinas and a visiting left-wing Mexican academic, Mr Jorge Castaneda. Mr Gutierrez Canet denied the allegation, refused a posting to Haiti, and opted for sabbatical leave.
Mr Dultzin said he understood the embassy had provided Dr Salinas only with the service he is entitled to, such as passports.
With an armed insurrection in progress in the southern state of Guerrero, a negotiations stand-off with Zapatistas in nearby Chiapas, and worsening poverty, Mr Dultzin's comments reflected President Zedillo's State of the Nation address last Sunday. He acknowledged that strengthening the rule of law, the judiciary, electoral rules, political accountability, and taking on corruption (including the drugs trade) were much-needed reforms for a modernised Mexico.
Mr Dultzin intends that his embassy will produce a newsletter open to contributions from Irish and Mexicans on common experiences and is interested in cultivating links between Mexican Americans and Irish Americans, who by 2050 he expects to account for a combined 125 million US citizens.
Recalling the common Irish-Mexican historical experiences of big powerful neighbours and of forced migration, he expressed admiration for Ireland's economic growth within the EU, and gratitude for Ireland's support of Mexico's economic opening. Ireland's position a generation ago, he saw as comparable to Mexico's now. Putting in place the "basic elements for happiness" was a priority for Mexico and "we are on our way.
