Mexican President Vicente Fox and Florida Governor Jeb Bush Address Guests of the 2001 Miami Herald Americas Conference.

Business Editors

CORAL GABLES, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 7, 2001

Concluding his visit to the U.S., Mexican President Vicente Fox arrived in Coral Gables today to address attendees at the fifth annual Miami Herald Americas Conference. Florida Governor Jeb Bush and General Peter Pace, Commander in Chief of the United States Southern Command also addressed the crowd.

President Fox spoke of his administration's commitment to democracy, human rights, and economic development for the whole region. With 500 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean, 25% of the population in Mexico and with Mexico ranked as the second largest trade partner with the U.S. after Canada, all panelists of the afternoon discussion on Mexico agreed on its importance to the region.

"The 21st century will be the century of Latin America," said President Fox.

In his speech, Governor Bush showed unwavering support of free trade with Latin America and the entrepreneurial spirit. "I have a confession to make," he said. "I completely believe in entrepreneurial capitalism. It is the best path for people, overall."

After serving as Commander in Chief of the United States Southern Command for the last year, General Peter Pace has been nominated by President Bush to serve as the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Pace identified many positives in the region, including the lack of cross border wars, the civilian control of military and cooperative counter drug efforts. He also noted the several threats to the democratic institutions in Latin America including narco- trafficking, corruption and the unequal distribution on wealth. "Despite the negatives," Pace said, "I am overwhelmingly positive about the future."

In addition, topics of discussion at today's conference included Florida's role in Latin America, corruption and money laundering, perspectives on Latin America's position in the 21st century, the Latin American policy within the Bush Administration, and Mexico's progress over the past year.

"This year has been another great success, our list of topics and lineup of speakers was exceptional. We have again established the Americas Conference as one of the most prestigious events covering the issues and political events of the Americas," said Alberto Ibarguen, Publisher of The Miami Herald. President Fox has been a symbol of promise and change for the Mexican people and we are delighted to have him join the Americas Conference this year."

Other speakers included the Foreign Ministers from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia; Peter Pace, Commander in Chief of the United States Southern Command; John Welch, Chief Economist of Barclays Bank; Ambassador John Maisto, Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs; and newly elected President of the University of Miami, Donna Shalala.

Now in its fifth year, the two-day conference, hosted by The Miami Herald and Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management, enjoys a reputation for attracting top government officials and hope to continue to do so in the future. Conference dates for next year are already in the making and supporters are preparing for an even bigger event in the future.

About the Americas Conference

Presented in association with Thunderbird, the American Graduate School of International Management, the fifth annual Miami Herald Americas Conference is sponsored by American Airlines, Greenberg Traurig, Global Crossing, Hill and Knowlton Public Relations/Public Affairs, Samsung Electronics, Stanford Financial Group, AOL Latin America, Barclays Bank, Cisneros Group of Companies, UPS, University of Miami - School of International Studies, Latin Trade Magazine, Florida International University, General Motors, Royal Caribbean Cruiselines, Spillis and Candela, Terremark, TQ3 and the Beacon Council. The Herald is also proud to recognize the participation in the Conference of The Council of Americas.

About The Miami Herald

The Miami Herald is Florida's leading newspaper and the best circulating U.S. newspaper in Latin America. In 2001, the newspaper won its 17th Pulitzer Prize, this one for breaking news reporting. The Miami Herald is a Knight Ridder Newspaper. Knight Ridder (NYSE:KRI) is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 32 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets.

For the latest conference information and the full agenda, please visit: http://www.americasconference.com.