Seasoned Diplomat Named as Mexico’s Envoy to U.S.

President Vicente Fox has chosen a veteran diplomat as ambassador to Washington, quickly filling a key post in the new administration’s drive to establish a broader relationship and more open border with the United States.

Juan Jose Bremer, 56, a lawyer and politician, has been posted to the former Soviet Union, Germany and Spain as Mexico’s ambassador during the last 12 years.

Foreign Minister Jorge Castaneda said Friday that the U.S. government had agreed to Bremer’s appointment, which will be sent to the Mexican Senate next week for ratification. Bremer is expected to easily win approval.

Rafael Fernandez de Castro, a political scientist who specializes in U.S.-Mexican relations, noted that Bremer was proposed even before the winner of the U.S. presidential election had been declared.

“This shows that Fox and his foreign minister are determined to take the initiative, to not lose time, in bilateral relations,” said Fernandez de Castro, who teaches at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico.

Indeed, Fox has sketched out a far more aggressive vision of relations with Mexico’s neighbor and largest trading partner than those of previous administrations. He has suggested an eventual opening of the U.S.-Mexican border to the free movement of migrants. Fox, whose Dec. 1 inauguration marked the end of 71 years of rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, also has urged the United States to contribute more money to Mexico’s development.

President-elect George W. Bush has pledged to make relations with Mexico a priority but has been cautious about increasing immigration.

Bremer will occupy what is by far his country’s highest-profile foreign diplomatic job, a post that holds near-Cabinet rank.

A longtime member of the PRI, Bremer worked as an assistant to President Luis Echeverria in the mid-1970s and later served as a PRI congressman, overseeing the Chamber of Deputies’ foreign relations committee.

Bremer’s PRI affiliation does not appear to have been an obstacle to Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive who belongs to the conservative National Action Party, or PAN. The new president has vowed to fill key jobs with people from different parties and backgrounds.

Analysts said Fox apparently chose Bremer because of his experience, professionalism and lobbying talents. One possible shortcoming, they said, is his lack of expertise about the United States, where he has never lived.

Bremer will replace Jesus Reyes Heroles, a former energy minister and a member of one of Mexico’s most prominent political families.