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MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Vicente Fox, who is prone to verbal mishaps, put his foot in it again by admitting he talks nonsense, in an off-the-record comment splashed on front pages and played on television news.
Fox, who ended 71 years of one-party rule at elections in 2000, leaves office on December 1 and his government has been plagued with political upheaval as it stutters toward the finishing line.
"I can talk freely. Now I can say any nonsense. It really doesn't matter, I'm on my way out," Fox told the Spanish news agency EFE in an informal remark before a televised interview.
The comment, made last week, was part of a tape sent to clients by the agency. A US Hispanic channel played the remark, which was then picked up by Mexican television and radio stations.
Several newspapers carried the comments on their front pages on Thursday and presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar criticized the Hispanic channel for broadcasting quotes that were not intended for public viewing.
It was the second embarrassment for Fox this week.
On Tuesday, Congress blocked a planned visit by the president to Australia and Vietnam because of political upheaval after bombs exploded in Mexico City and street clashes in a southern state.
Fox retaliated in a televised address to the nation that he felt "kidnapped" because legislators refused him permission to travel.
Milenio newspaper published a caricature of Fox in a clown's suit and red nose. "You can kidnap my body but my soul will always be free to talk nonsense," read the caption.
Fox, who will hand power over to fellow conservative Felipe Calderon, was embarrassed in 2002 when Cuban President Fidel Castro made public a recording of a phone conversation between the two leaders.
Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive. is heard asking Castro not to stay long at a UN summit in Mexico so as to avoid being there at the same time as President Bush.
The call was seen by many in Mexico and the rest of Latin America as bad hospitality on Fox's part.
- REUTERS
