LEAD: About noon on Friday, July 21, the Finance Minister of Mexico, Pedro Aspe, placed a call to the Treasury Department.

How the Mexican Debt Pact Was Achieved

LEAD: Efforts by the Bush Administration and Dan Rostenkowski, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to strike a deal on reducing capital gains taxes are being complicated by opposition from rank-and-file legislators in both parties who question the value of any compromise.

A Gains-Tax Compromise Is Resisted

LEAD: The explosion in the number of television stations in Europe has produced a billion-dollar boom in the sale of American programs on the Continent, but this bonanza has produced growing demands to limit how many American shows can be broadcast.

For Europe, U.S. May Spell TV

LEAD: Three men accused of being members of the Genovese crime family were convicted yesterday in Federal court on racketeering charges that included the 1986 murder of a New York City police detective in Queens.

Jury Convicts 3 Mob Figures In Racket Case

LEAD: A fundamentalist group in Lebanon vowed to kill an American hostage unless Israel frees one of its leaders, who was abducted Friday. Page A2.

Threat to Kill U.S. Hostage

LEAD: In a strong reaffirmation of American policy, Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d said today that the United States opposes any role for the Khmer Rouge in a future Cambodian government.

U.S. AGAIN SAYS NO TO CAMBODIA ROLE FOR KHMER ROUGE

LEAD: Israel's Supreme Court ruled today that Palestinians accused of wrongdoing must be given time to appeal through the military and civilian courts before the army demolishes their homes.

PALESTINIANS GAIN RIGHT TO CONTEST HOUSE DEMOLITIONS

LEAD: West 114th Street, a block that slopes gently down toward Riverside Drive, was quiet yesterday, typical for a weekend, residents said. But inside a six-story red-brick building, the talk was fiery as residents wrestled fiercely with memories of a neighbor, a young computer engineer, and theories of why he was killed the day before.

Slaying Brings a Neighborhood's Tensions to the Surface

LEAD: ''It's an interesting, intricate social situation,'' Nathaniel Hunter Jr. observed early yesterday morning from the bench in Tompkins Square Park, where he has lived for the last six years. ''The internal contradictions are constantly slamming into each other.''

Worlds Collide in Tompkins Sq. Park

LEAD: About 200 worshippers were at Sunday morning services at a small church in East Harlem recently when the Rev. Edward J. Norman introduced David N. Dinkins, the Manhattan Borough President, as the man about to become the first black mayor of New York City.

For Dinkins, Styles Range From Calm To Serious

LEAD: In the land of new magazines, a publisher with two successes in a row is practically a miracle worker. By that measure, Patrick J. McGovern is the prophet for his age.

Computer-Magazine Giant Thrives on Global Approach

LEAD: After the dismal summer of 1988, when fear of pollution and medical waste drove visitors from the beaches and threw beachfront economies into crisis, tourism officials and businesses in the shore communities of New Jersey and Long Island say the crowds are slowly returning.

On the Beach: Better Than 1988, but. . .

LEAD: The Mets tumbled to new depths today when they were beaten for the sixth straight time for their longest losing streak in four years, and they did it with doomsday flourishes.

Mets' Slide Reaches No. 6

LEAD:  Will Bloch Be Charged?  Unusual factors, along with the difficulty of proving espionage, have for now hamstrung the case against the diplomat Felix S. Bloch. Page A12.  3 Guilty of Racketeering  Three men were convicted in U.S. court on charges that included the slaying of a New York police detective.

INSIDE

LEAD: Thirty years ago this summer, Sparky Anderson spent his only season as a major league baseball player as a second baseman with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Anderson Adjusts to (Ugh) Losing

BUSINESS DIGEST

LEAD: Gov. Mario M. Cuomo - he of the silver tongue - doesn't like candidate debates.

Campaign Matters; The Debate Over Debates: Any Winners?

LEAD: New estimates of contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster could lead to the evacuation of 100,000 more people living nearby. Page A3.

Chernobyl Danger Persists

LEAD: Amid widening allegations of improprieties in the Federal regulation of generic drugs, investigators at the Food and Drug Administration are completing special plant inspections of 11 drug manufacturers, Congressional and agency officials say.

F.D.A. Inquiry on Generic Drugs Focuses on Changes in Ingredients

LEAD: Every spring, L. L. Bean Inc. begins preparing for the Christmas selling season knowing how much it will pay for sweaters, boots and parkas. But until recently, there had always been a question about another important cost - the interest on money it borrows to pay for the yearly buildup of inventory.

Eliminating Risk of Rising Rates

LEAD: Poll takers are asking Brazilians whom they plan to vote for in the presidential elections.

TV Making Obscure Brazilian The Candidate to Beat at 39

LEAD: Westinghouse, the operator of the the country's largest nuclear weapons plant, has notified the Government that it will cost more than four times the previous estimate to repair and restart three reactors that are the only source of a gas vital to atomic warheads.

Restarting Weapons Reactors To Cost 4 Times the Estimate

LEAD: With legal fees spiraling toward an estimated $2 million, Pete Rose and Bart Giamatti will learn today which court, Federal or state, will command their lawyers' attention and costs.

Rose Case: A Field for Lawyers

LEAD: Moscow has succeeded in coaxing striking miners back to the coal fields with a package of benefits reportedly worth $8 billion annually. But the miners' economic grievances were no greater than those of tens of millions of other Soviet workers. And few experts believe that the Soviet Union's sputtering economic machine can deliver soon on popular expectations of a bathtub for every family and sausage on every dinner plate.

Economic Watch; Western Credit for Moscow? Experts Are Split on Impact

LEAD: Orders for American-made machine tools rebounded in June after a three-month decline, increasing 16 percent mostly because of a steep rise in foreign orders, a trade association said in its monthly report, to be released today.

Tool Orders Rose 16% In June

Victoria Fiodaraŭna Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), having held the position for a total of 51 weeks. Azarenka has won 21 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two majors at the 2012 and 2013 Australian Opens, becoming the first Belarusian to win a major singles title.

July 31, 1989

Headlines from July 31, 1989

How the Mexican Debt Pact Was Achieved

A Gains-Tax Compromise Is Resisted

For Europe, U.S. May Spell TV

Jury Convicts 3 Mob Figures In Racket Case

Threat to Kill U.S. Hostage

Billboard 200

Batman (Soundtrack)

The Raw & The Cooked

Hangin' Tough

Don't Be Cruel

Girl You Know It's True

Notable Births

Historical Context for July 31, 1989