Word: nafta
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...economic liberalization has not been Mexico's only costly strategy in preparing for NAFTA. Inflation in Mexico has been reduced from 160 percent in 1987 to nine percent in 1993. This impressive reduction in inflation has been made possible by restrictive fiscal and monetary policies that are presently causing an economic recession in Mexico and which have had considerable social costs...
However, as Galbraith offered his concluding remarks, I found myself becoming more perplexed with the disturbing U.S. centrism that continues to limit and threaten Latin America's development: "It does not matter what the outcome on NAFTA is. In six months, no one will remember it." Sadly enough, that may be true of the United States. But is it true in Mexico as well? Clearly, the answer is no. In fact, NAFTA is conceivably the most important piece of foreign legislation that has marked Mexico's history as an independent nation...
...with regard to Latin American issues. What U.S. citizen remembers and can fully justify Operation "Just" Cause? Can anyone--except perhaps a federal agent--truly say that they know what happened in Nicaragua? The validity of Galbraith's statement is truly frightening. In six months, or maybe even less, NAFTA will just be another acronym in U.S. foreign policy history. But the truth is that if NAFTA does not get approved when voted in the U.S. Congress this week, not only Mexico, but much of Latin America, will remember the rejection of this treaty for several generations to come...
Latin America will understand a rejected NAFTA to be a deliberate effort to prevent closer ties with Latin American countries. NAFTA is much more than lowering tariffs to export more American goods into the growing Mexican market; it is much more than taking advantage of lower Mexican wages and providing cheaper products for the American consumer. For Mexico, the agreement is about raising the living standards of millions of its citizens; it is the affirmation, the final step, in a series of difficult reforms that have been undertaken in order to stabilize its economy enough to be a legitimate participant...
...goal of bringing inflation down to a level similar to that in the U.S. has not once been abandoned by the Salinas administration. It was clear to the Salinas administration that these two economic reforms were prerequisites to a successful negotiation of NAFTA...