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Hon. Vicente Fox
55th President of Mexico
 EVENT REPORT - May 3, 2011
"We can only attain happiness by living for others,” declared Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico, at the Gülen Institute Luncheon Forum. “This has been the guidance of my life.” Throughout his presentation, Fox suggested that international relationships should be governed by the same ethical rules as interpersonal ones. The world community must be held accountable to the standards of service, sacrifice, respect, and cooperation that we expect from ourselves as individuals.
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So it was with all the conviction of an ethical imperative that Fox called for new world institutions, new platforms for international dialogue, and a new vision for worldwide, multilateral decision-making.
Mexico was one of the founding members of the United Nations, and Fox considers the reinvention of this international organization to be today’s predominant challenge. The United Nations was established in 1945 to replace the League of Nations, the world security organization that failed to forestall the Second World War. Fox fears that today the UN faces a similar powerlessness. The institution was created to provide a platform for peaceful dialogue, to “mitigate conflicts among nations and work for the world’s values.” But it has been unable to prevent violent conflict around the world and increasingly unable to establish peace through consensus. Fox spoke critically of the United States’ unilateral military action in Iraq, arguing that such an intervention must be a decision arrived at by the entire international community. Only if countries work together will we have the kind of UN, UNESCO, IMF, and World Band that the world needs.
Another challenge facing the UN is the shift in economic power from the West to the East. Fox is hopeful that this will be accompanied by an appropriate shift in leadership as well. The expansion of the G7 into the G20 is a good start, and Fox praised its “bridge-building” potential. A more inclusive financial summit will be better able to address the complexity of today’s economic environment and will create new possibilities for economic dialogue, allowing nations to “better understand each other.” In a broader sense, Fox situated the economic dialogue enabled by the G20 in the longer history of cultural exchange that has characterized the East and West. “We now know of profound spiritual leaders from both the East and the West,” he stated. “It is dialogue that teaches us just how much we have in common.” Fox expressed his confidence that these points of cultural overlap, these “shared spiritual values” constitute the unifying force that will build the 21st century world.
The power he identifies in such spiritual values is the power of purpose. Humans are constantly in search of a frame of reference, a context of meaning within which they can make sense of the world. Spiritual values provide the symbolic coordinates that help define that sense of purpose. “When you have a purpose, you have a life plan. When you have a life plan, then you can perform. You can become a leader. You have the capacity to change your fate.” Assigning purpose to life is the essential first step in the development of leadership in individuals; this is why Fox emphasized the importance of spiritual/ethical values. He acknowledged the leadership of many people from many different nationalities, but called for the coordination of our “many legitimate micro-efforts” into a macro-effort, suggesting that nations must be equipped with the same understanding and sense of purpose as individuals if they are to be leaders in the global community.
Fox went on to praise the visionary nature of the North American Free Trade Agreement in these terms. In 1994, Mexico, Canada, and the United States entered into a trade partnership that created the largest trade bloc in the world. Fox noted that after NAFTA, Mexico imported almost $250 billion in goods from the United States, more than most major European nations combined. It would be a mistake not to build a more aggressive future for NAFTA. According to Fox, this sort of cooperation based on mutual respect exemplifies the ethical potential of international politics. “In today’s world we need to work together,” he said, “no one can do it alone.” He urged a reawakening of the NAFTA vision: only with a renewed “sense of purpose” can NAFTA nations exercise the necessary leadership in this uncertain economic environment.
But beyond this basic economic interdependence, Fox suggested that as neighbors, Mexico and the United States are bound by certain ethical obligations as well. He spoke of the troubling consequences of the drug war in Mexico and appealed to the United States for help: “If you see your neighbor’s house burning, you must help.” One of the difficulties with fighting the war against drugs in Mexico, said Fox, is that drugs are really an international problem. Marijuana and cocaine, for example, are grown and processed further south and trafficked through Mexico to consumers in the United States. Mexico is neither a drug producing nor a drug consuming nation, but the flow of contraband through the Mexican cartels has created a violent situation beyond the government’s control. A reduction in US drug consumption would significantly reduce the income and power of the Mexican cartels, as would stricter enforcement in drug producing nations. But the way forward is not to blame other nations or other governments; we must work together to solve the problem.
Fox, always a strong leader in the war on drugs, has recently begun advocating for their legalization. Paradoxical as it may sound, Fox argues that had marijuana been legalized in the recent California initiative, this would have been a significant step towards solving the problem of cartel violence in Mexico. Marijuana legally produced and distributed in America would remove the need for an illegal trade that funds and perpetuates violence in Mexico. “We need an ethical alternative to prohibitions,” he said. “Prohibitions don’t work, not for cigarettes, alcohol, not even for the apple in the Garden of Eden.” He cited a CATO Institute report on the Portuguese legalization of drug consumption in 2001. After ten years of legalization, consumption of drugs in Portugal actually dropped by 25%. In other words, to legalize drugs is not the same as to encourage them. More importantly, he suggested that it is only by working together as neighbors that the US and Mexico can make any progress towards the establishment of peace.
Fox concluded his presentation by repeating his call for leadership among individuals and nations alike. These leaders are, to quote Theodore Roosevelt, the “men in the arena…who spend themselves on a worthy cause.” Their clearly articulated purpose allows them to face the challenges of today with conviction. And ultimately, leaders in every nation share the responsibility to work together as neighbors in order to bring about a more peaceful world.
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