Most people seem unaware of how NAFTA allowed Mexico to
be opened to corn and other agricultural products from the USA.
This had a devastating effect upon small farmers in Mexico who
were unable to compete. This has been a major contributor to the
upswing in Mexican immigration (much of it in violation of US law)
during the last decade. Mexico is still has a far larger rural population
(as a percent of the total population) than does the US so the
impact on Mexico was all out of proportion to any gain by US
agribusiness.
One thing you have failed to mention is the deleterious effect
gummint subsidies for tortillas have had on farmers' income..
To be sure NAFTA had an effect but it isn't the only actor on
that particular stage. Mexican farmers were fleeing the land
long before NAFTA took effect.
Corn is a far more pervasive element of the American diet than
nearly anyplace else on earth. To the point that analysis of tissues
from someone who lives in the US would show a skew in the
Carbon 13/14 isotope ratio caused by corn consumption.
IBM
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