Clinton Receives a Warm Embrace in Yucatan Capital

With a new lease on his presidency, President Clinton basked in a warm reception Sunday here in the tropical capital of the Yucatan, where even raucous pre-Lent carnival celebrations were quieted in honor of his arrival.

The president was greeted with a bearhug by Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo at an airport festooned with Mexican and U.S. flags and a giant illuminated “Bienvenidos a Mexico” sign.

Pictures of the two presidents were plastered throughout the pretty city known for its crumbling, pastel-colored turn-of-the-century mansions.

The affectionate welcome came even though the leaders are expected to address such thorny issues as drug policy and immigration during the 23-hour visit by Clinton. While Clinton did not come bearing huge gifts, the two men are expected to sign one agreement liberalizing air travel and another providing $4 billion in credit for Mexican importers of U.S. products over two years. Mexico has emerged as the No. 2 importer of U.S. goods as trade to much of the world has stagnated because of the global economic crisis.

The trip was the president’s first excursion out of the White House since he was acquitted by the Senate on Friday of charges relating to his relationship with Monica S. Lewinsky.

But it was immediately clear here that the president’s impeachment trial has cost him little, if any, popularity south of the border. From senior Cabinet officials to the man in the street, Mexicans were jubilant about the visit of a leader who has supported them and their economy even when it was difficult for him politically.

“President Clinton is a friend of Mexico, a personal friend of President Zedillo, and we give him a warm welcome,” Foreign Minister Rosario Green said during a pre-trip news conference.

In the city streets, packed with carnival revelers singing, dancing and dousing one another with shaving cream, the welcome was equally warm.

“Even if he has another Lewinsky, we don’t care. He’s a good president, better than Zedillo,” declared Jose Lavadores, a 50-year-old engineer sipping beer at a downtown celebration.

There were only some noses out of joint because the government shut down the party eight hours earlier than usual, at 4 p.m., because of security concerns related to the president’s arrival.

Clinton was thinking about another occasion as he made his way to Mexico aboard Air Force One.

He and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton spread Valentine’s cheer throughout their plane, passing out chocolate candy from a large heart-shaped box.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” the president told reporters in a rare visit to the back of the plane, where they sit. “Isn’t this the biggest heart you ever saw in your life? This is a better kind of heart of darkness.”

Mrs. Clinton was wearing a gold-colored, heart-shaped pin on her dark suit. When asked if it was new, she replied, “Brand new.” Then she pointed to her husband and smiled.

The president and first lady have a particular fondness for Mexico because they honeymooned in Acapulco on the Pacific coast. The president is known to love Mexican food. In fact, he once told an audience of Japanese people that chicken enchiladas are his favorite dish.

Mexicans might be glad for Clinton’s appreciation of their culture and cuisine, but he won their hearts by helping their country in time of need with a $50-billion rescue loan after the 1995 collapse of its currency, the peso.

Although the trip to Mexico is something of a post-impeachment coming out for Clinton, it was clear Sunday that things are not completely back to normal.

Mexican officials decided not to hold the usual post-summit news conference today, saying the White House had vetoed the idea.

The president’s advisors believe that if they expose Clinton to a news conference at this delicate time, he will be bombarded with questions about impeachment. They are unwilling to subject the president to such a scene abroad.

Zedillo rarely gives news conferences, so Mexican officials were happy to oblige.