On Jun 26, 2006, at 12:26 PM, Auguste Blanqui wrote:
> I read many assertions from the left today about how NAFTA and neo-
> liberal development more generally is fueling illegal immigration.
> While I'm not doubting the connecting, I would like to get more
> specific about extent. Has any one run across any more detailed
> stories or preliminary studies on the extent to which 1990s-now
> illegal immigration can be attributed to changes in Mexican
> political economy? The only index I've seen is the huge drop in
> rural labor force in Mexico (I think), but there've got to be others.
When I interviewed Douglas Massey on my radio show <http:// www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html#060413>, he said NAFTA had had little effect; the regions that are the source of most migrants aren't those most affected by NAFTA-related displacements. Julio Huato, in the interview I'll post later today, agreed that NAFTA wasn't a big influence, for different reasons (i.e., the treaty was just part of a larger process of economic integration).
Doug