In an interview published Wednesday one of the many he gave to mark the third anniversary of his Dec. 1, 2000, inauguration Fox said his greatest challenges are poverty and education.

"The relationship with our friend Jorge (George W. Bush) as we'd call him here is excellent, but the results of that relationship are very poor," he said.

"We experienced the Sept. 11 issue," Fox continued, "the priorities there (in the United States) changed, then the Iraq issue and everything surrounding it, and so President Bush and the U.S. government have forgotten about us, and that is not good.

"They've forgotten about the bilateral relationship when the first thing we should pay attention to is that: our neighbors," he said.

Prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Mexico and Washington reportedly were nearing agreement on an accord that would provide a route to legal residence in the United States for at least some of the reportedly more than 3 million Mexicans living there illegally.

But heightened security concerns, including border issues, in the wake of the Al Qaeda attacks put a migratory accord with Mexico on the back burner.

Fox, whose subsequent lack of support at the United Nations for the U.S.-led war against Iraq distanced him from Washington, said during a trip to New York in September that his country will continue to express its opinions trusting in its relationship of "friendship and neighborliness" with the United States.

As for Mexico's ties with Washington, Fox said then: "We have a very solid relationship, a friendship, neighborliness and collaboration that is not disturbed by issues of the moment."

During his mid-term interviews this week, the president expressed satisfaction with his personal life. "Some of the great things that have happened to me in these three years are my marriage to Marta (Sahagún) and (the birth of) my grandson, whom I adore," he said.

Asked about widespread speculation that his wife will make a bid for the presidency in 2006, Fox replied: "She's free to make her own decisions, especially personal decisions, and life plans, (and) she has my support for whatever she decides."

In any case, Fox said he would not interfere in the nomination process of his conservative National Action Party (PAN). "I will not get involved or try to influence the results," he pledged.

Reducing poverty and giving poor students access to education will be among the goals for the final three years of his administration, the president said.

Speaking to reporters who cover the presidential beat, Fox also cited his wish to "boost growth and create the jobs the country needs so much."

Fox's inauguration three years ago last Monday ended 71 years of uninterrupted rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI.

"The possibilities are there, and if things and certain conditions are right, the country will maybe grow some 3.5 to 4.5 percent. That's not a pledge, it's not a promise, it's only a remark," he added.

During his presidential campaign, Fox vowed that the economy would grow 7 percent a year.

This year, it is estimated that the country's economy will grow only 1.5 percent.

" 'Seven-Percent Growth,' that slogan is always going to haunt us. I accept it, I've already paid a very high price these past three years for saying that," Fox acknowledged.

He also vowed to resolve the conflict in the southern state of Chiapas where the Zapatista National Liberation Army rose up in arms in 1994 to fight for indigenous rights. Despite the lack of armed activity by the rebels since then, tensions still exist throughout the region.