Acapulco, Guerrero
During his inauguration of the 72nd Banking Convention in the Port of Acapulco, President Felipe Calderón declared that his government is dealing firmly with economic and security problems, adding that Mexico’s financial and banking system is in one of the best conditions worldwide.

“We do have problems in Mexico, but we are dealing with them firmly.” Yes, we have adversity, but the point in life is not to avoid adversity, which is impossible. The point is to have the determination to cope with it and to get to work,” he said.

He pointed out that the country has healthy public finances and solid institutions, such as Banco de México as well as a level of external debt that has considerably reduced the Mexican economy’s vulnerability to foreign countries.
In this respect, President Calderón said:

“Where finances are concerned, what counts is the discipline we have had for several years. Having maintained healthy public finances, achieved balance and a cero deficit, as we have done over the past two years, helps us now to exercise power, in this 1.8% of GDP, which we are doing, by implementing a contra-cyclical policy that will obviously help offset the effects of this international economic situation.

He added that the capitalization rate of Mexican banks is now 14% and in some cases, obviously much higher. “In Mexico, despite the brutal credit contraction there has been throughout the world, in January of this year, there were still positive flows of credit towards the country’s productive sector,” he said.

At the same time, he told members of the Association of Mexican Banks that his government has proposed the goal of ensuring that the rule of law is the golden rule of the country’s social and democratic coexistence.

He considered that constructing a Rule of Law should be an everyday, inevitable task of both government and society. It is a task that everyone should assume in his sphere of responsibility, which is obviously largely the responsibility of federal authorities but also of local authorities.

That is why, he added, the authorities are dealing with crime head on, in a determined fashion, adding that, “We must not make a mistake or create a false dilemma. Problems are solved by coping with them head on, rather than avoiding them.

At the 72nd Banking Convention, Mexico faced with the World Financial Crisis: Opportunities and Challenges, the President declared that sooner or later, avoiding solving problems, however serious, makes them worse.

He declared that in the specific case of security, determined action is required to deal with this issue. Neglecting the task of coping with crime will only lead, as indeed it did for many years, to a growth of crime and the deterioration of social life.

“That is why it must be dealt with in an integral fashion, and must be combated with a united front, with the full force of the state,” he declared.

In this respect, President Calderón declared: “Federal Government has never avoided or tried to minimize the problems we have. They are serious but we are the first to have acknowledged the severity of the problems we experience, as a result of which we have acted with determination and firmness since the very first day.”