Karl Marx
Someone once said: “Two heads work better than one.” That person was definitely not thinking in terms of world powers, like the United States, Canada and Mexico. Not very long ago, in 1994 precisely, these three countries decided to “join their heads” and make some sort of an agreement, referred to as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Basically, it was supposed to promote trade and foreign investment in these three nations. The outcomes were not as positive as everyone was hoping they would be. Many people benefited from NAFTA greatly. The number of those who profited, however, was quickly overshadowed by the number of people who were damaged in one way or another by the articles of this agreement. “From the conservative or capitalist perspective, NAFTA is a godsend. From the liberal perspective, NAFTA represents nothing less than the cultural unification of an entire continent.” From the American worker’s perspective, nevertheless, NAFTA was a screw-up, mainly because the drawbacks incorporated into it were much more numerous and of a greater impact on the population than its pros. NAFTA stands for North American Free Trade Agreement; it’s an understanding between Mexico, the U.S.A. and Canada, effective as of 1994. The objectives of the agreement include the elimination of barriers to trade in, and facilitate the movement across the borders of the territories of the Parties, to promote competition in a free trade area, and to increase investment opportunities. Other ones were to provide adequate and effective protection of property rights in each Party’s territories; and, to create effective procedures for the implementation and effectiveness of this contract. A very important goal of NAFTA is to work towards the expansion of the agreement’s foreshadowed benefits to other parts of the world, mainly to places like Chile and the 27 countries in the Caribbean Basin. This is an attempt to try to unite the Americas so that they simulate the powerful European Community.