MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Chile's Bachelet received by Mexico's Felipe Calderon
Mexico's embattled President Felipe Calderón received Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Monday night in what marked the first state visit by any country to Mexico since Calderón took office 100 days ago. While supporters of defeated presidential candidate Manuel López Obrador staged a protest against Calderón outside of Mexico City's National Palace, the conservative President was warm in his remarks to Chile's first woman president.
Using the last publicly spoken words of overthrown Chilean President Salvador Allende, Calderón said that Bachelet's visit to Mexico was historic for his country. "Her mere presence in Mexico as a representative of the people of Chile is a symbol that Salvador Allende's last prophecy has been fulfilled," said Calderón. "Allende said that sooner or later the streets of Chile would reopen so that free citizens could walk down them and build a better society. President Bachelet, you represent those who walk down Santiago's 'alamedas' to create a better world." In an emotional response, Bachelet mentioned Mexico's role in a Pinochet-era Chile. "I'd like to thank Mexico for welcoming thousands of Chileans who fled here after the 1973 military coup," she said. "Mexico's hospitality showed that friends are friends in good times and bad." Bachelet continued by praising the deep ties that connect Mexico City and Santiago. "We should continue building the relations between us on all fronts," she said. "We need to become strategic partners that can project a shared vision to the rest of Latin America, to Asia, and to Europe. We share the same challenges, and we have already showed the world that we think alike. We have both fought for democracy, we have both fought for the rule of law, and we both stand for the peaceful resolution of conflicts and the condemnation of terrorism." Bachelet continued her state visit Tuesday by signing several treaties and by becoming the first woman to ever address a joint session of Mexico's Congress. Bachelet later attended a formal state dinner after receiving the keys to Mexico City. Bachelet continues her Mexican tour Wednesday by attending economic and cultural conferences, as she is being accompanied on the tour by influential Chileans including Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley, Agriculture Minister Álvaro Rojas, and Culture Minister Paulina Urrutia; businessmen Andrónico Luksic, Ricardo Claro, and Alfredo Ovalle; and well-known writers Isabel Allende and Antonio Skármeta. Bachelet leaves Wednesday afternoon for Monterrey, where she will dedicate a statue in honor of Chilean Nobel-prize winning poet Gabriela Mistral before jetting of to Panama. By Nathan Crooks The Santiago Times
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