2006年VOA标准英语-Mexican President Cuts Top Government Salaries,

By Greg Flakus
Mexico City
04 December 2006

Mexico's new president, Felipe Calderon, began the first full week of his six-year term Monday by signing a decree to reduce his own salary and the salaries of top government officials by 10 percent. The money saved, which amounts to around $2.5 billion, will be spent on social programs and law enforcement. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Mexico City, the new president is also seeking more foreign investment to boost job growth in his country.

 
Felipe Calderon (file photo)
With his cabinet members standing¹ at attention behind him, President Calderon signed the decree that will cut their salaries and his by 10 percent. He says this cut will also affect sub-secretaries and other high officials and will benefit social programs. He says the amount saved is equivalent to the combined annual budgets of six government departments.

Calderon had already announced his intention to cut salaries over the weekend and Mexico newspapers on Monday celebrated² the move with big headlines. The man who lost the July 2 presidential election by a narrow margin³, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, attacked the salary cut as insignificant⁴ in a meeting with reporters.

He chided the news media for playing up the salary cut by the man he referred to as the "spurious president." Lopez Obrador complained that the idea of reducing government salaries was his and that he would cut them by far more than ten percent.

 
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, 4 Dec 2006 
Lopez Obrador has claimed the presidential election was fraudulent, but the Federal Electoral Tribunal rejected his arguments and today public opinion polls show the vast majority of Mexicans accepting Felipe Calderon as president. However, Lopez Obrador continues to command the loyalty⁵ of a significant part of the population. The leftist parties who support him do not have sufficient votes in the Mexican Congress to block legislation, but they can complicate⁶ the legislative⁷ process and delay approval of Calderon's reform proposals.

But President Calderon has shown no hesitancy in promoting his policies, which include an effort to reform the judicial⁸ system and reduce regulations that would encourage more private investment. He spoke⁹ of his government's commitment to this at the Spanish-Mexican Investment Forum¹⁰ in Mexico City Monday.

He said foreign investors¹¹ can count on his government's efforts to fight crime and corruption¹² and to make Mexico a good place to invest.

President Calderon says he wants to initiate¹³ reforms that would make Mexico more competitive and generate more jobs. He says he would prefer to have Mexican laborers¹⁴ remain here rather than cross the border illegally to work in the United States.

Political analysts¹⁵ question how much of this ambitious program the new president will be able to accomplish, given the fact that he won the election with only a little more than a third of the vote and his party lacks the votes in Congress to pass legislation without seeking votes from other parties. His supporters say he is open to dialogue with other parties, including the leftists who question his legitimacy¹⁶, and that he is determined¹⁷ to move quickly to accomplish his goals in spite of the obstacles.

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 insignificant   

adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的

参考例句：

• In winter the effect was found to be insignificant.在冬季，这种作用是不明显的。
• This problem was insignificant compared to others she faced.这一问题与她面临的其他问题比较起来算不得什么。

5 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

6 complicate   

vt.使复杂化，使混乱，使难懂

参考例句：

• There is no need to complicate matters.没有必要使问题复杂化。
• These events will greatly complicate the situation.这些事件将使局势变得极其复杂。

7 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

8 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。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

10 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

11 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

12 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。

13 initiate   

vt.开始，创始，发动；启蒙，使入门；引入

参考例句：

• A language teacher should initiate pupils into the elements of grammar.语言老师应该把基本语法教给学生。
• They wanted to initiate a discussion on economics.他们想启动一次经济学讨论。

14 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

15 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

16 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

17 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。