Q&A: Mexico's Vicente Fox

Mexico's last President, Vicente Fox, ended more than 70 years of uninterrupted one-party rule when he assumed office in 2000. Today, the former Coca-Cola executive is trying to find a place in a competitive field: former heads of state. He has an anti-poverty foundation, a think tank for global democracy and a new book detailing his exploits, repudiating the wall on his U.S. border and poking gentle fun at George W. Bush. He talked with NEWSWEEK's Adam B. Kushner.

Kushner: You write that democracy can ' t happen at the point of a gun — an uncontroversial idea after Iraq. But you also say it can ' t happen through aid groups. Why not?
Fox: People need to be convinced. People who don't absorb the principles and values of democracy cannot embrace it. The more it becomes a culture—the more the people take it as owned and believe in it—the more they will defend it, the more they will promote it and the more they will advocate the trappings of democracy like autonomy of powers, electoral processes, referenda and transparency.

So aid groups can help but they can ' t be instrumental?
Exactly. If you don't nurture democracy, things like Venezuela could happen: all of a sudden, you elect somebody who is not a democrat and begins to move a society to authoritarian government.

How can Venezuelans recover their democracy?
It's a problem. Hugo Ch?vez has bought the support of people by giveaways, by using their money to control them. But the only way Venezuelans will make this change is by participating through political parties, electoral processes. All the center parties should get together, decide on one candidate, and together take on Ch?vez. The idea is just to be competitive.

Like they ' ve done in Russia.
Yes. You get stronger when you unite.

You had to get the Constitution changed to run for president because your parents weren ' t born in Mexico. Should countries do away with birth requirements for office?
Absolutely. These limitations are un democratic. Today's societies, with mobility, with intense migration across the world—more and more, we should allow candidates who have not been born in a country, or don't belong to a party, to run.

You seem to think U.S. sanctions are keeping the Castros in power.
They haven't served their purpose. The policy the United States has pursued in Cuba has only affected the United States, because Cuba is trading with Europe, Mexico, Canada.

So are sanctions a bad idea for Burma?
Yes and no. At the very beginning, when there is a huge violation of human rights, the United Nations has to be very critical, saying violations are not the way to go. And some temporary sanctions might work, as they have worked in [North] Korea for atomic bombs. But putting a premium on good democratic behavior and trading with them has good effects, too. So it's a mixed approach, I'd suggest.

You write eloquently about what walls symbolize — particularly about the one being constructed on your border. Is there anywhere a hard border is a good idea?
No. Globalization means building relationships among nations, working together through economics, trade, unions. The European Union is my favorite example for how you can get stronger through openness, compassion among nations. I believe in the good people of every nationality building bridges with the good people in other countries.

But not every person everywhere is good.
What I perceive in the United States today is fear. September 11 cannot be tolerated, and all measures must be taken to fight terrorism. But letting fear guide the decision-making process of immigration is wrong. Congress, as soon as possible, should convert immigration—which today is a problem to Americans—into an asset. Immigration is natural to every nation, and it's needed in the United States. It needs immigrants to stay competitive, to sustain the quality of life.

You called Bush a " windshield cowboy " — not the genuine article. Do you think it ' s a pose?
It's just a first impression I made of him when he came to San Cristobal and I showed him a beautiful stallion. I have been a cowboy, and I've been riding horses since I was 2 years old. And I could tell he didn't feel confident when he was touching the horse. When I invited him to ride he said, "My security won't allow it." Then when I visited his farm, he carried me around on a pickup! Wearing boots doesn't make you a cowboy.

You ' ve recently come under scrutiny because a magazine noticed that, while you were on a president ' s salary, your ranch was lavishly renovated. Where ' d you get the money?
Tell your readers to open centrofox .org.mx, where I have all of my financial information, which I have disclosed every year I have been in politics. That had never been done in Mexico. I have a home; I think it's a beautiful home, but it's not a luxury mansion. I don't have a lake; that's false. These are my opponents who still want to see how much they can hurt my party and even President [Felipe] Calderòn. My life is an open book.