NAFTA repeat: CAFTA, One Year Later

The year anniversary proved an important moment for debunking the government’s promises about the boon CAFTA would bring for all Salvadorans. Even the U.S. and Salvadoran governments’ official numbers show that El Salvador’s trade deficit with the U.S. has grown, with U.S. exports to El Salvador far outweighing Salvadoran exports to the U.S. [...] Foreign investment in El Salvador went from $300 million in 2005 to $222 million in 2006, whereas in Costa Rica – where CAFTA has not been implemented – foreign investment is eight times higher.

  Upside Down World article

I heard somebody on Democracy Now! a few weeks ago reporting that with US subsidies to farmers, after NAFTA, 1,200,000 Mexican corn growers lost the ability to compete, and therefore, their livelihood. World Hunger Year says a bit more.

Mexico is the center of diversity of maize, and the crop has long been central to its culture, economy and diet, yet NAFTA opened Mexico's maize sector to the dumping of millions of tons of cheap U.S. corn by multinational agribusinesses. This caused the price paid to Mexican corn farmers to drop by 70%, contributing to the loss of over 1.5 million Mexican farm livelihoods in the first 10 years of NAFTA alone. During that same time, the price of corn tortillas -- the most important staple food in Mexico -- rose by 50% and higher. Dumping of U.S. corn into Mexico -- including GM corn -- has also had serious environmental implications.

And now we have to try to keep them on their side of the border.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.