MEXICO CITY -- (AP) -- Washington has approved the Mexican government's
 choice for its new ambassador to the United States, President Vicente Fox's
 administration announced.

 Juan José Bremer's appointment must still be approved by the Mexican congress,
 which is expected to vote next week, according to the government news agency
 Notimex.

 Bremer, a former ambassador to Spain and the Soviet Union, has been an
 outspoken critic of the U.S. evaluation of Mexico's performance on countering
 drugs. Opponents say it is unfair for the United States alone to decide.

 Bremer has said the process ``hurts our spirit of cooperation and our mutual
 confidence.''

 Fox also has said the current process ``eats away'' at U.S.-Mexico relations and
 has proposed countries affected by drug trafficking unite forces to combat it.

 Bremer is a former congressman of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.
 Fox, of the conservative National Action Party, defeated the PRI July 2 to become
 the first opposition president in 71 years.