Latino Panelists Back NAFTA

The suggested North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will benefit Mexico, and Latinos in the United States and Hispanic-Americans should support it, panelists said at the Law School Latino Conference Saturday.

The fourth annual conference, titled "The Devil is in the Detail: NAFTA and Its Impact on the Latino Community," took place in Austin Hall and drew approximately 30 listeners.

The trade agreement, which would eliminate tariffs and subsidies between North American countries, will increase the number of jobs in both Mexico and the U.S. and eliminate some lower-paying jobs, speakers said.

"There will be a disproportionate impact on social regions and a disproportionate impact on Latinos but still net increase for Mexico," said Raul Hinojosa, professor at the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Abelardo Valdez, former U.S. Ambassador and Chief Protocol in the Carter administration, said that prior to the free trade agreement proposal, "The see of poverty, the underdevelopment [in Mexico] was so great and the resources to address those issues were grossly inadequate to deal with those issues."

He said NAFTA's creators hope to help Mexicans and Mexican-Americans and to improve deteriorating social and economic conditions by increasing trade and industry between the U.S. and Mexico.

"Hispanics are in the middle of this geographically, economically, and socially," said Valdez. By accepting NAFTA, she said, "I think the opportunities are great."

Mexico's international image has deteriorated severely throughout the years, and the nation's situation must improve or disaster is possible, Hinojosa said.

"Mexico has become the third world, the model that ate the middle class," said Hinojosa. If the situation in Mexico and the Latin American countries does not change soon, "I think it's going to get ugly," he said.

The speakers said the NAFTA plan will improve these conditions, while creating a more favorable image of Hispanics in the U.S.

"A stronger Mexico means a stronger Hispanic image in the United States," said Mary Joe Marion, trade policy analyst with the National Council of La Raza.

The plan will benefit the United States economically as well, Hinojosa said.

"How we will deal with it will have historical consequence not just for [the Latino] community but also for the U.S.," he said.

Most people are not aware that "Mexico is [the United State's] third largest market," said Valdez. "And more exports [to Mexico and other North American countries] translate into jobs for the U.S."

The pact will bring the U.S. and Mexico, which are already trade partners, even closer, said Hinojosa.

Worldwide, the United States and Mexico already "basically have the most integration between rich and poor communities," he said.