2006年VOA标准英语-New President Promises to Fight Organized Crime

By Greg Flakus
Mexico City
02 December 2006

A few hours after taking the official oath as Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderon, delivered an inaugural¹ address in which he promised to fight organized crime, to provide more employment for Mexicans and reform his nation's electoral laws. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Mexico City, President Calderon also reached out to the opposition² with an offer of dialogue.

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Mexican President Felipe Calderon touches his heart after being sworn in at the National Congress during his inauguration ceremony

Felipe Calderon began his six-year term as president of Mexico amid political tension that threatened to disrupt his official swearing-in. Lawmakers from the leftist Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD, tried to block entrances to the House of Deputies Friday, but Calderon and outgoing President Vicente Fox came in through a back door and quickly carried out the formal ceremony.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets around the same time, condemning⁴ what they claim was a fraudulent election. Mr. Calderon won the presidential election in July with an edge of around 240,000 votes over his closest opponent, PRD candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has refused to concede defeat and has proclaimed himself the legitimate⁵ president.

A review of the vote by the Federal Electoral Tribunal found no evidence of fraud and most Mexicans have rejected Lopez Obrador's claim. Still, President Calderon, in his inaugural address, delivered at the National Auditorium⁶, several kilometers from the Congress, repeated his call for dialogue with opponents.

He said he will talk with anyone who is disposed to dialogue and will work with anyone willing to work with him for the good of all.

President Calderon said that when politicians spend all their time fighting with one another, they are neglecting their responsibility to the citizens.

Calderon called crime Mexico's greatest problem and he ordered Attorney General Eduardo Medina and other members of his security team to develop a crime-fighting plan within the next 90 days.

He said this is a fight the nation needs to undertake and that, together, Mexicans can win.

Among the measures President Calderon mentioned were better financing and training for police agents, judicial⁷ reform and an end to corruption⁸ and impunity⁹.

Mexico's new president also addressed one of the most vexing¹⁰ issues between his country and the United States, illegal immigration.

He said that immigration divides family and deprives Mexico of valuable labor¹¹. He said he wants to improve economic conditions and create jobs in Mexico so that people will not have to leave the country.

True to the reputation he has as a determined¹², energetic pragmatist, Mr.Calderon laid out an ambitious plan in his first formal speech to the nation as president. Having been elected with little more than a third of the vote, however, and hounded still by angry demonstrators, his ability to achieve broad reforms may be limited.

His proposals also target some of the most powerful and well-entrenched interests in the country. Among them are the narcotics-trafficking gangs who have murdered around three thousand people in Mexico over the past year, the large public service unions and the quasi-monopolies controlled by a handful of rich families, whose profits account for a large part of the country's Gross National Product.

The first indication of how well he may do will come next week when the conflictive House of Deputies begins considering budget proposals and the new president begins his first full week at the helm of the nation's huge bureaucratic¹³ apparatus¹⁴.

1 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

4 condemning   

v.（通常因道义上的原因而）谴责( condemn的现在分词 )；宣判；宣布…不能使用；迫使…陷于不幸的境地

参考例句：

• The government issued a statement condemning the killings. 政府发表声明谴责这些凶杀事件。
• I concur with the speaker in condemning what has been done. 我同意发言者对所做的事加以谴责。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

6 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

7 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

8 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

9 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

10 vexing   

adj.使人烦恼的，使人恼火的v.使烦恼( vex的现在分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• It is vexing to have to wait a long time for him. 长时间地等他真使人厌烦。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Lately a vexing problem had grown infuriatingly worse. 最近发生了一个讨厌的问题，而且严重到令人发指的地步。 来自辞典例句

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

13 bureaucratic   

adj.官僚的，繁文缛节的

参考例句：

• The sweat of labour washed away his bureaucratic airs.劳动的汗水冲掉了他身上的官气。
• In this company you have to go through complex bureaucratic procedures just to get a new pencil.在这个公司里即使是领一支新铅笔，也必须通过繁琐的手续。

14 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。