Univision: on Free Trade

Dennis Kucinich: NAFTA accelerated immigration from Mexico, in search of jobs

A: Well, first of all, we have to understand why so many people came north of the border to seek work. I talked about the connection between NAFTA, trade and our immigration policies. When NAFTA was passed, there was an acceleration of immigration from Mexico because people were in search of jobs. They were told their wages were going to go up. Wages collapsed in Mexico. Now, there were many corporations north of the border who were ready to receive a supply of cheap labor. We understand that. So of course we need to provide people a path to legalization. But if we do not look at NAFTA while we’re looking at immigration, we’re going to keep having the same problems. A new trade agreement with Mexico that has those principles will help workers in Mexico, help workers in the US, create conditions where we finally gain control of our economic destiny again.

Dennis Kucinich: FactCheck: NAFTA coincided with (not caused) peso collapse

His chronology is correct; his economic theory is highly debatable. NAFTA went into effect Jan. 1, 1994. The Mexican peso collapsed late that year, leading to large job losses and reduced wages. Most economists, including the World Bank and the Congressional Budget Office, describe the peso collapse as coincidental.

However, Kucinich is not the only one to espouse a NAFTA-peso relationship. The liberal Economic Policy Institute argued the connection in a 1997 report titled “NAFTA and The Peso Collapse: Not Just a Coincidence.” They wrote, “The peso had to be devalued in order to implement the Mexican strategy for export-led growth that NAFTA was intended to promote.”

Mike Gravel: CAFTA & NAFTA cause unemployment in Mexico & Central America