MEXICO CITY — Having assuaged the rancor of the Pete Wilson era, Mexico and California are poised to move beyond good vibes and look for practical payoffs from their renewed friendship.
Mexican President Vicente Fox's choice of California as his first U.S. destination since taking office in December is itself a sign of the improved relationship.
But beyond such symbolism, the agenda for Fox's two-day visit, which begins today in Sacramento, is crowded with Cabinet-level working meetings designed to tackle long-simmering disputes and craft agreements on education exchanges, high-tech projects and cross-border environmental issues.
With commerce already surging as Mexico cements its position as California's No. 1 foreign trading partner, both sides also are looking for fresh investment opportunities.
"This is a working meeting. This is not a symbolic, touchy-feely-type meeting," said Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda. "It is a very exhausting, intensive, substantive agenda."
Castaneda said the improved relationship between his nation and California during Gov. Gray Davis' administration has produced tangible results in the form of Mexico's sale of 50 megawatts of power from Baja California to the San Diego area--an amount expected to increase to 100 megawatts by May and 200 megawatts by the end of the year, enough to serve 200,000 homes.
"This is something we can do because it's not a political problem in Mexico since there is a much more forthcoming attitude in California than there was a few years ago," Castaneda said. "When you had a Gov. Wilson and Proposition 187, it would probably have been a little more difficult."
Fox's visit, starting with an address to a joint session of the Legislature today in Sacramento and moving on to San Jose, Fresno, Santa Ana and Los Angeles, ranges from high tech to Hollywood to migrant workers.
Davis said Monday that the trip underscores the state's improved relationship with Mexico. "Attitudes between our two peoples have improved markedly," he said. "We are partners, not adversaries, in an effort to combat common problems."
In Silicon Valley tonight, Fox is to dine with 20 chief executives after touring Flextronics and Cisco Systems plants. Flextronics has built an immense plant in Guadalajara, home of Mexico's "Silicon Valley South."
