Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–11, Part 1, Documents on Mexico; Central America; and the Caribbean, 1973–1976

83. Telegram 226951/Tosec 130055 From the Department of State to Secretary of State Kissinger in New York¹

Washington, September 23, 1975, 2254Z.

226951/Tosec 130055. Subject: Briefing Memorandum—Lopez Portillo Confimed as Presidential Candidate. For the Secretary from Rogers.

1. Echeverria announced yesterday that PRI candidate to be the next President of Mexico is Treasury Secretary Jose Lopez Portillo. Lopez Portillo will be elected next July and assume office December 1, 1976 for a six-year term. Lopez Portillo was one of several possible candidates—but had not been perceived as a front runner. We do not anticipate that his Presidency will impact negatively on U.S./Mexican relations.

2. A lawyer by training and a professor of Political Science, Lopez Portillo was the most intimate associate of President Echeverria among the leading choices. From his early days, Lopez Portillo expressed concern for the welfare for the Mexican poor. He has been critical of Mexico’s rapid population growth rate and supports increased credit to the impoverished rural sector—an area to which Echeverria only lately has given increasing attention. As Secretary of Finance he has supported a greater role for state-controlled enterprises.

3. None of the leading candidates would have significantly changed the existing pattern of U.S./Mexican relations. Although Lopez Portillo would not have been the first choice of U.S. and Mexican business interests because of his support of increased business taxes and support of the public sector, we do not expect that he will significantly curtail or discriminate against foreign investment. The choice of Lopez Portillo may have resulted from a growing concern of the Mexican leadership over mounting development and social problems at home. If this is correct the Lopez Portillo administration may turn inward and he personally may play a less prominent international role than did Echeverria. This is not to say that we expect significant diminution in vocal Mexican support for Third World issues.

Robinson

1. Summary: The Department informed Kissinger that Mexican Treasury Secretary José López Portillo had been selected as the ruling party candidate for the Presidency in Mexico’s 1976 elections, noting that a López Portillo administration would be unlikely to change the dynamics of bilateral relations.

   Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D750329–1141. Confidential; Immediate; Noforn. Drafted by Luers and Keane, cleared by Rogers, Dreyfuss and in substance by Bremer, and approved by Luers. Kissinger was attending the UNGA in New York. In telegram 8352 from Mexico City, September 24, the Embassy noted that López Portillo’s selection was a surprise and that he had adopted a moderate tone in his first comments to reporters as a Presidential candidate. (Ibid., D750333–0007) In telegram 8522 from Mexico City, September 30, the Embassy suggested “a prime consideration” in Echeverría’s choice of López Portillo as his successor had been “maintenance of unity within the political elite,” inasmuch as in-fighting between other leading contenders for the Presidency had reached extreme levels. (Ibid., D750338–0917)