El Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte: desarrollo social y los dilemas de la agricultura mexicana

Abstract

This paper deals with the analysis of the regional impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), especially in the Mexican agricultural sector. The authors suggest that given the current trends toward trade liberalization in the sector, the exportation-oriented agricultural products (those produced mainly in the Northern part of the country) may experience a positive rise in the face of NAFTA at the expense of the self-consumption agricultural products (those produced mainly in the Southern part of the country). A number of steps taken by the Mexican Government (among them the Solidarity Program) suggest that the structural problems of the Mexican agriculture remain unsolved, while NAFTA may favor the conversion of those areas devoted to the production of basic crops into capital- intensive fields. The potential effect of such a situation over the existing unemployment figures in the rural areas is a cause of concern that involves the three North American Governments.