Mexican NAFTA Experience Raises Questions for Free Trade
The economic policies imposed on Mexico through NAFTA have driven more and more people into poverty – 50 percent of the population – effectively decimating the middle class.
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| Maria Atilano of Mexico, a critic of the FTAA, brings direct experience with NAFTA into the discussion about the pros and cons of free trade agreements. By: Chris Hufstader/Oxfam |
Critics of the free trade agenda being promoted in Miami at the negotiations of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) frequently cite the case of Mexico to prove that the trade rules proposed for the hemisphere will not lead to development and poverty reduction. Maria Atilano of The Mexican Free Trade Action Network (known by its Spanish initials RMALC) came to Miami to spell out just what the problems have been for Mexicans since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was established in 1994.
Atilano has been watching the effects of NAFTA, and is very concerned about them. "After 10 years of experience with NAFTA, two million small- and medium-size companies are bankrupt," she said just before a large protest march in downtown Miami on Thursday. "Agriculture is suffering tremendously. Public policies to support farmers, including rural banking systems, are inadequate." According to Atilano, the economic policies imposed on Mexico through NAFTA have driven more and more people into poverty, decimating the middle class. Nearly 50 percent of the population of Mexico is living in poverty.
Atilano also sounded a cautious note on the subject of investment. "The promise of NAFTA was that huge investment would come to Mexico, but now we offer cheap labor, lots of taxes breaks, low social security payments, and fewer environmental regulations. And the companies don't allow workers to form unions." She also said that the lack of decent jobs is increasing migration, which she says can be very dangerous. "People are killed, or arrested and treated like criminals when all they are trying to do is survive and create a better life for their families. We are fighting for an immigration treaty with the US but the Bush administration won't negotiate one."
These and other negative effects of NAFTA have brought Atilano to Miami. "We are here because we don't want the FTAA. The experience in Mexico shows it will have a terrible impact on people, and we don't want trade agreements that are against the people. We are not against trade, but national development needs have to be taken into account. Trade should not be focused only on the big transnational companies; it should contribute to responding to the majority of people."
Oxfam has supported RMALC since its inception in 1991 to monitor the trade negotiations, raise awareness of the implications of these trade pacts, and develop alternative proposals for integrated trade agreements and campaign for changes. The lessons from NAFTA have been key to informing farmers organizations and workers throughout the Americas. RMALC has carried out numerous exchanges with Oxfam partners in other countries in the hemisphere to help them learn from each other, and are a key member of the broader Hemispheric Social Alliance, one of Oxfam's principal allies in the campaign to stop the FTAA.