By Nora Boustany

Though mindful of the unstoppable tide of history he has witnessed in other major postings, Mexico's ambassador to
Washington, Juan Jose Bremer, concedes with glee that his fifth ambassadorial assignment haseverything.

Bremer was a spectator when Germany digested unification after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, experienced the era of
perestroika in the Soviet Union, and was one of the actors in the turnaround in relations between Spain and Mexico. But he is
still awed by the changing course of U.S.-Mexico ties. "There are times when this is business as usual and at times the gates
open to let in floods of change," Bremer said with relish. "This is a never-ending story."

For generations, migration has been at the forefront of conflicts in U.S.-Mexico relations, but now the two countries are talking
about amnesties and regularizing illegal workers. "We can have a close relationship, while both countries pursue their own
national interest," Bremer observed. "The greatest enemy of change is prejudice and misperception as our countries transit from
distant neighborhood to partnership."

The first decision the ambassador faces every morning in his sun-flooded office on Pennsylvania Avenue is which issue or
themes to focus on in a relationship that generates new questions every day. Matters that experts here now like to call
"intermestic" -- international and domestic -- have broadened the scope of Bremer's brief beyond foreign policy and trade.
Besides immigration, ongoing questions over energy, justice, the environment, water rights, truckers' disputes, janitors' unions in
California, borders and more now affect the United States and involve Mexico.

"You are in a way a coordinator, playing in an orchestra without soloist pretensions," said Bremer, who has a passion for music.

Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, noted that the Mexican ambassador to Washington "occupies a
different position than anybody else."

"He has a certain privileged access and place in the hierarchy here," Hakim said. "Virtually any issue that involves Latin America
is multiplied seven-fold when we are talking about Mexico," because of its proximity.

The new administration of President Vicente Fox is not merely responding in its relationship with the new administration of
President Bush, it is taking the initiative on the bilateral agenda, Hakim noted. "Bremer is very adept, agile, and an operational
person, he knows how to make things work smoothly and well," he said.

Asked whether negotiations with Washington for a new migration policy were proceeding according to expectations, Bremer
said, "We have decided to tackle problems, taking advantage of the capital of goodwill to broach touchy, complex matters.
You don't expect those issues to be resolved in 24 hours."

"We are stepping into uncharted territory and leaving behind certain taboos in our dialogue," he emphasized. "We are starting
with something that is very important and that is the building of trust. Things are moving ahead in the fight against organized
crime, for example. Mexico has great challenges but we are making progress."

When he was ambassador to Madrid, Bremer was instrumental in restoring a relationship that had been frayed by Spain's civil
war anda flood of Spanish intellectuals who sought refuge in Mexico.

"Despite our common heritage, we had a lot of recapturing to do of the old brotherhood," said the Spanish ambassador to
Washington, Javier Ruperez, who got to know Bremer in Madrid. "Bremer was extremely useful in that recuperation."

In accepting the highest order of the Grand Cross of Isabel the Catholic from King Juan Carlos in June, Bremer spoke of the
"joint space of our imagination" in Spanish and Mexican literature.

Bremer, the son of a lawyer, a second-generation Mexican whose family came from Germany, has had a life full of happy
surprises, not least of which is that his interrupted high school love story got a second chance after the object of his teenage
affections, Marcella, reemerged in his lifeyears later, became his wife and gave birth to two sons.

Bremer began his career as a politician from the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled Mexico for seven decades. He
became acquainted with Fox, who swept into power with the more business-oriented National Action Party, in Germany and
Spain. "It was such a positive surprise; I did not hesitate for a moment," he said of the ambassadorship offered by Fox. "I am
conscious of the uniqueness of being posted here. I have been lucky to be posted in places where history is moving forward,"
he said.

Before branching into diplomacy, Bremer held senior jobs running some of Mexico's arts and cultural institutions, including the
National Fine Arts Institute.Culture helps shape the national consensus, he explained: Mexico's literature and art give it "color,
weight and personality abroad."