Mexican government officials say that the 'benefits' of globalization
outweigh the problems. Which is kind of to say, that they want
Wal-Mart to open these new stores in the Southern States of Mexico???
One of the things that Wal-Mart does in the US and Canada is to pass on
the burdens of their presence to the local taxpayer, who is supposed to
pay for the roads, traffic congestion, and pollution cleanup burden of
these monster outlets. Not to mention the social costs of downtown
blight that follows.
But this problem is magnified even more in Mexico, which often times
lacks basic infrastructure to begin with. When I read that Mexico is
to get another 65 Walmart outlets, all I can envision is piles and piles
of garbage lying in the streets and floating in the wind.. And in
Mexico, the garbage often is never picked up off the streets.
Add this, to water drainage problems from inadequate engineering of
roads. When it rains in Mexico, cars often become boats floating
past clogged outlets (if they exist at all) plugged with cast away
garbage. Potholes follow, that are never repaired for lack of
municipal funds. And cars fall part even faster, as they negociate
roads with constant impediments and pits.
All of this is better than the South of Mexco, where hunger runs
rampant. Still, not a pretty picture..... **that** of yet more
'Walmexes' draining pesos North. And growing piles and piles of
trash. Bonfires of plastic, paper, and chemical trash.
Tony
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MEXICO CITY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Mexican retail chain Wal-Mart de Mexico
SA de CV (Walmex) will invest 4.5 billion pesos ($464 million) over the
next 18 months to open 62 new outlets, a company official said on
Tuesday.
The company official, who asked not to be identified, said Walmex
shareholders approved the investment plan on Tuesday and also gave the
green light to a 0.45 peso ($0.046) per share cash dividend payable on
March 15.
Walmex, majority owned by U.S. retail behemoth Wal-Mart Stores ,
currently counts 500 retail outlets and restaurants under seven
different names in Mexico.
Walmex on Tuesday reported a jump in 2000 operating profit to 3.915
billion pesos from 3.330 billion in the previous year. The retailer was
expected to provide a fourth-quarter breakdown of its earnings later on
Tuesday.
($1=9.681 pesos)
------------------------------------------------
Mexico sees room for improvement on globalization
26 Feb 2001 18:28
By Richard Jacobsen
CANCUN, Mexico, Feb 26 (Reuters) - Mexico's economy minister said at a
World Economic Forum on Monday that the benefits of free trade had to be
spread more widely, while anti-globalization forces gathered to protest
what they say are the ravages of unfettered capitalism.
Although demonstrators converged on Cancun to protest against the
current world economic order, there were no initial disturbances like
those that rocked free-trade forums in Seattle and Prague.
The forum, known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, bringing
together presidents and titans of industry, was holding a two-day confab
on Mexico's economic and political outlook following President Vicente
Fox's election last year, which ended 71 years of single-party rule.
In opening sessions, Mexican officials detailed how the country had
generally benefited since joining the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and the United States in 1994.
But they acknowledged that not all were satisfied with the state of the
country, which has become an export powerhouse while at least 40 percent
of the nation's 98 million people live in poverty.
Mexican Economy Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said on Monday that the gap
between rich and poor decried by anti-globalization forces was evident
between Mexico's regions, and that the government was working to close
the gap.
He noted that northern Mexico had benefited from NAFTA because of its
proximity to the United States and that it had grown at a 5.9 percent
annual rate over the past 10 years. Southern states, including
strife-torn Chiapas, grew by just 0.4 percent annually during that
period.
"We've got to extend the benefits of the free trade agreement to small
and medium-sized businesses," he said. "We cannot continue having a
relationship of big Mexican, American or Canadian companies."
GLOBALIZATION WORTH THE HEADACHES
Guillermo Ortiz, governor of Banco de Mexico, the country's central
bank, noted that after Mexico's deep recession in 1995, which followed a
botched currency devaluation that sent international capital flooding
out of the country, the economy has grown at an average rate of 5
percent a year with diminishing inflation.
"The benefits of globalization are much greater than the problems that
have come with it," said Ortiz.
While Ortiz and other officials spoke at the forum, activists held a
parallel "Alternative Social Forum" in a park across town where they
planned to debate globalization's impact on Latin America's poor.
Protesters said they planned to make their views heard by the forum
attendees staying in Cancun's hotel strip. The attendees also included
some U.S. legislators, international business executives and economists.
But there were no immediate signs of disturbances on Cancun's
sun-scorched streets. Several lines of federal police kept protesters
well away from the forum's sea-front hotel.
In a bid to integrate opponents' views, organizers have included in the
forum program representatives from nongovernmental groups and even a
panel to discuss globalization's effect on Mexican cultural identity.
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