STUDENT WRITING - Persuasive - THE NEGATIVE RESULT OF THE NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE AGREEMENT by ARMANDO GOMORA

It has been more than twenty years since the North American Free Trade Agreement, commonly known as NAFTA, was signed by the presidents of Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 1993. The pact, which took effect on January 1, 1994, created the world´s largest free-trade zone (Encyclopedia). I specifically think that in the case of Mexico, it has not had the impact and the results that it was supposed to have in the economy and the development in pro of Mexican people. How much time is needed to see that it does not work anymore and that it has been detrimental and not beneficial instead? One could see NAFTA positively but the facts cannot be hidden.

First, its supporters maintained since the beginning that once the agreement was signed, poverty would be drastically reduced in all fields in Mexico within ten years at the longest though it has already been twenty years since then and NAFTA has caused a worrying impoverishment in critical sectors inside the country. The most affected are the farmers. Before the agreement, they used to supply the domestic market with staple products such as beans, corn, or chicken. Now, they cannot compete against transnational companies which sell these products even in the most remote places in Mexico. It is paradoxical that Mexicans buy imported beans! No matter if one goes to a big supermarket or to a little grocery store, both sell “Michigan black beans.”

As a result, some states like Oaxaca, Zacatecas, or Guanajuato lose a great amount of people who emigrate to the United States and Canada each year, mainly from rural zones, in order to get better conditions to live (Bacon). Ironically, many of them will become farm works who will work for the companies that later will sell their products in Mexico. This is harmful and unjust.

Second, urban zones are not exempt from collateral damage. In spite of the fact that multinational companies have obviously invested millions of dollars for industrial development and for the service industry, and consequently the creation of many jobs related to it, most of them are low-paid jobs. NAFTA companies come to Mexico, make Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), establish their factories, and take on many workers. Then they pay them only a miserable salary of $4.6 dollars per day (Wage). One can see that they take advantage of the cheap Mexican manpower. Moreover, managerial jobs are commonly given to American and Canadian citizens in most cases. Why don´t they give opportunities to Mexicans in these positions? We also have qualified individuals. I am not talking about Mexicans in Canada or the United States. I am talking about Mexicans in Mexico.

Finally, the Federal Government says that due to NAFTA, tons and tons of merchandise enter and leave Mexico every day and it receives the payments of customs tariffs to contribute to public spending although they have also affirmed that customs duties only represent less than 1% of the total that is collected year-round (Revenue). This is easy to understand because the principal purpose of NAFTA was to remove the barriers to trilateral commerce among the countries that signed it. More than barriers, it eliminated the chance that Mexico might be a developed nation, always being submissive to the interests of the other two countries.

As you can see, the agreement is regrettably deceptive. The patterns which NAFTA has followed these twenty years will not change. Mexico needs to take a more active role with its trading partners to protect the welfare of its people. It can do immediate actions like, for example, restrict the importation of basic products originated in NAFTA so the farmers do not have to leave the country, or to increase the minimum wage in order for employees to earn what they deserve working long days, or even in a hypothetical case, to break the agreement. What is this great country waiting for? That Guadalajara, Monterrey, or Mexico City will sell “American tortillas?”

Works Cited
Bacon, David. “Globalization and NAFTA Caused Migration from Mexico.” The Public Eye Magazine. 11 Oct. 2014. Political Research Associates. 14 Apr. 2015 ˂http://www.politicalresearch.org˃.
Encyclopedia. “North American Free Trade Agreement.” International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 14 Apr. 2015 ˂http://www.encyclopedia.com˃.
Revenue. “Ley de Ingresos de la Federación para el Ejercicio Fiscal de 2015 [Revenue Law of the Federation for the Fiscal Year of 2015].” Diario Oficial de la Federación. 13 Nov. 2014. Secretaría de Gobernación. 14 Apr. 2015 ˂ http://www.dof.gob.mx˃
Wage. “Minimum Wages in Mexico with Effect from 01-01-2015 to 31-12-2015.” WageIndicator Foundation. 02 Jan. 2015. University of Amsterdam – AIAS. 14 Apr. 2015 ˂http://www.wageindicator.org˃