"I WANT JUSTICE"

By JAMES R. GAINES, KARSTEN PRAGER, Laura Lopez

Just three days before the arrest of Cali chieftain Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela in Colombia, Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo discussed his nation's involvement in the drug war with a group of TIME journalists. Meeting with Zedillo in his office at the Los Pinos presidential residence were managing editor James R. Gaines, editor at large Karsten Prager and Latin American bureau chief Laura Lopez.

TIME: How do drug trafficking and drug money affect government?

Zedillo: We know that the traffickers move huge amounts of money, most of which doesn't remain in Mexico. The bulk of the money stays in either the consuming or the producing countries. Mexico is mainly a place of transit. I don't think the drug business is meaningful for our economy, but it is meaningful to the extent that it brings with it violence, crime and corruption. We have many former policemen in jail because of links to drug trafficking, but we don't have hard evidence on whether the traffickers have penetrated other spheres of power. There are rumors, there are accusations, but we haven't much hard evidence to prove anything and therefore to prosecute.

TIME: Why do you say the drug business is Mexico's No. 1 security problem?

Zedillo: Because of the violence it carries with it, because we know the experiences of other countries in which drug trafficking has grown. Little by little the traffickers penetrate institutional structures, starting with the justice system, and we have to stop it before it becomes a bigger problem.

TIME: If you know where the drug kingpins are, why don't you just go in and get them?

Zedillo: I don't know where they are. If I knew, I would immediately order the Attorney General to jail them. If you could give me that information, I would be most pleased to use it and wouldn't reveal my source.

TIME: What can the U.S. do that it is not doing to help on the American or the Mexican side of the border?

Zedillo: We have made tremendous progress over the past few months. One of the instruments for Mexico to fight drug trafficking and organized crime is greater collaboration with the U.S. government. We want intense cooperation. Our Attorney General has worked on developing a new relationship with the U.S. Attorney General's office. As you know, there are historic complaints on this side. Mexicans feel that our effort to fight drugs and organized crime in terms of the size of our country and the resources available is much bigger than the effort made in the U.S. Mexicans keep wondering why we seize cocaine, why we arrest corrupt policemen, and why that seldom happens in the U.S.

TIME: Where does the flow of information between Mexico and the U.S. break down?

Zedillo: I cannot say. I have advised my Attorney General to have his U.S. contact as high as possible so that we don't have leaks. That has always been a problem, and I wouldn't like to place blame on any side. I also think we have to put order in our own house. We have severe problems in the Attorney General's office, historical problems.

TIME: Of corruption?

Zedillo: Yes.

TIME: There seems to be a sense in the streets that until the three murders [of presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio, Juan Jesus Cardinal Posadas and P.R.I. secretary-general Josa Francisco Ruiz Massieu] are solved, it will be difficult for you to govern. Zedillo: According to the information provided to me by the Attorney General, the Ruiz Massieu case is practically solved, and the Posadas case seems to be nearly solved. In the Colosio case, we have made progress to the extent that we now believe there was a second shooter. But we haven't been able to find anything beyond that. I have tried not to put the Attorney General's office under extreme pressure -- unlike the press. I have 5 1/2 years ahead of me. I want full justice and the full truth, but we have to keep a very cool head.

TIME: Against the background of recent high-level political violence, are you worried about your safety?

Zedillo: Well, I couldn't govern if I were afraid. Obviously right after Colosio's assassination my family and I were very concerned. I wouldn't like to use the word frightened, but we were very concerned. Little by little and despite incidents during the presidential campaign, we learned not to be afraid.

TIME: Your party has been accused of involvement in some of the more unsavory events of the past year.

Zedillo: I consider that accusation totally unfair. We had two victims in 1994: Mexico and the Institutional Revolutionary Party. I find accusations that the P.R.I. as an organization was involved in [the Colosio] assassination to be offensive. There's nothing that has emerged in the evidence that could give support to the accusation.

TIME: Some people say that if your ruling P.R.I. does not reform, it could destroy itself, and Mexico would wind up with a political vacuum.

Zedillo: I am convinced that the party is moving toward reform. The P.R.I. has a very wide and solid political base, the biggest of any party. But it needs to be more democratic. It's as simple as that. And of course it needs the general environment -- economic, social and political -- to improve, which I think will also happen. So I don't expect the P.R.I. to dissolve or destroy itself.