Fema Employment - Mexicans say changing NAFTA may force them to move to U.S.?

Mexicans say changing NAFTA may force them to move to U.S.?

What if any are your thoughts on this? Mexicans say changing NAFTA may force them to move to U.S. By Franco Ordonez, McClatchy Newspapers Mon Mar 3, 6:17 PM ET http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20080303/wl_mcclatchy/2867869 Mexico has gained because of NAFTA, according to Mexican Economy Secretary Eduardo Soto . He told a gathering last week of U.S., Canadian, and Mexican representatives that the Mexican economy has grown 51 percent because of NAFTA, that nearly 5 million jobs have been generated and that exports to the U.S. and Canada have multiplied five times. "The trade act is good because we have jobs," he said Sunday, speaking loudly over the clamor of hundreds of workers hauling fruits and vegetables off rumbling trucks. "If there are no jobs, more people are going to go to the U.S. I have so many friends who can't find jobs and leave." Jesus Velasquez doesn't want to move to the United States . He fears, however, that he may have to if he loses his job selling avocados. Velasquez, 36, says he and his family have benefited from the North American Free Trade Agreement. For him, the alternative is to immigrate to the United States . "People are worried," said Gerardo Peralta , 55, who sells rice, nuts and condiments. "If the U.S. tries to renegotiate, they are going to do what's best for them. That could be bad for Mexico . "As representatives of the Mexican government, we do not want to insert ourselves into the U.S. political campaigns," he said. "However, we are convinced that what North America needs is more integration and not less integration. North America needs to look to the future and not return to the past." As voters in Ohio , Texas , Rhode Island and Vermont prepare to go to the polls Tuesday, some workers and distributors at this 800-acre food market, one of the biggest in the world, are expressing concern about presidential candidates Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's threats to pull out of NAFTA unless it's renegotiated. NAFTA is unpopular in Ohio , a key battleground state for Clinton and Obama, where thousands of manufacturing workers have lost jobs. Several vendors at the Central de Abasto food market said NAFTA isn't perfect. Prices on many products have risen, and many corn farmers said they've been run out of business because of the influx of cheaper American grown corn. But overall, they say, NAFTA has been good for the country, and they worry what changes the U.S. would seek should it return to the negotiating table with Mexico and Canada .

Public Comments

hillary building her future voting base
I think it's time to scrap NAFTA so they can't use it as an "excuse" anymore.
repeal NAFTA and close the borders!
excuses , excuses it's not very popular in Texas either
What country are you in? Are you blind? Do you live under a rock? nafta has nothing to do with it. mexico has taken our jobs and they are still pouring over the border. i live in battle creek mi. a town built around kelloggs and post cereals. kelloggs mexican president moved kelloggs to mexico. and our ILLEGAL mexican population is booming. its the scumbag execs of big business taking our jobs to mexico so they and the mex government can screw the mexican people that is whats causing them to move here . watch the movie bordertown if you want a look at whats really going on.
I'm all for International Trade Agreements, as long as they DO NOT take jobs from American workers and companies. This old stuff of the United States buying goods from all over the world and no one buying our goods or services is out of control. We give aid to every country that puts their hand out and all they want is more free goods. Please, don't ever deprive some poor Mexican corn farmer a chance to sell his corn because some rich United States corn farmer has a better priced and better quality product to sell. NAFTA needs to be reworked before moving any further ahead with the project. Also, close down the borders and force some of these other countries to deal with their own economic problems without putting the burden on the USA.
Another smokescreen and empty threat. Why can't Jesus move elsewhere in Mexico? What compels him to sneak into our country, breaking our laws as soon as he sets foot here? If we really wanted to help the Mexican people we'd go do for them what we're doing in Iraq, remove a corrupt and oppressive regime and replace it with an elective body that would be responsive to the people. I'm still waiting for someone to do that for us but maybe I'm just being cynical about our election choice this year in the US. Is there any state where NAFTA is popular? No. You don't create wealth without creating goods, pushing paper around is a necessary evil but it is not productive and only creates paper wealth. So in retrospect, maybe exporting all of our manufacturing jobs wasn't a good idea. Unfortunately for Mexico, not enough of them went to them, they went to China. Even Japan is losing wealth to China's growing industry. If they'd hurry up with the nanotechnology we could put China out of business but that's still 15 years off, just as it was 15 years ago. Now they're building a NAFTA corridor and who knows where that will lead. It's not that I distrust all politicians, just every one I've ever seen up till now. If Mexico says it's bad to change NAFTA then that's clearly what we should do since they also think it's terribly racist of us to not want millions of illegals living here and competing with us for jobs. I still can't believe the gall of them holding an immigration rally and waving Mexican flags! What were they thinking? I'll say it again, an invasion isn't always obvious or loud, it can be quiet and the invaders may even smile at you. But it's still an invasion.
What about that North American Union and the Amero .?
In any trade agreement there are some winners and some losers on both sides. This interview was with one of the winners --- probably the biggest winner since Mexico is now number one in the world in avocado exports and they supply something like 80% of the US market having driven all the rest of South American (especially Chile, I believe) out of the market. An illustration, by the way, that the winners or losers can be in third countries, too. If the agreement is ever renegotiated, there will simply be a shift between the winners and losers. The new losers will threaten to go to the USA and the new winners will cancel their USA travel plans. This is simply a threat from a simple-minded Mexican who is afraid he will lose his competitive advantage. When you feel you are up against the wall you are prone to say almost anything which might help.
Well the answer then is so simple. Borders can stay open. No need for a fence. Just fine the holy F*(K out of the companies that higher illegal immigrants. It will save money on the fence and then we don't have to worry about the repercussions of revising NAFTA. Wait scratch that still build the fence :)
B.S., The Bush backed Mexican Government That stole the Mexican Election. The Opposition party in Mexico ran on a platform of dissolving the Free Trade Agreement because of it negative effects on Mexican Corn growers. .Which the Rich in Mexico and United States oppose, They Will lose their cash cow. Now all Subsidized U.S. grain has been dumped on the Mexican market,causing another mass displacement of Mexican Farmers. You know where you can shove that Agreement !
Mexico has gained from NAFTA. They are a group that wants but doesn't contribute. My brother is a truck driver and Mexico now wants U.S. to allow it;s trucks more freedom. Luckily we blocked it because their trucks don;t meet the current standards. The agreement has hurt a lot of U.S. companies due to more competition. However, the moving of factories cannot be blamed on the agreement. That is a move done by the major companies alone. It;s business they want to make money.