Some Lessons Learned For Sustainable Development From The Mexican Experience

Abstract

The economic reforms that are necessary to implement the neo-liberal paradigm have to be tempered in developing countries by the crucial roles of the national government in the organization, administration and monitoring of institutions that will carry out these reforms. In addition to these reforms, countries like Mexico, where half the population lives below the poverty line, need a nationally-funded and administered program to uplift the rural and urban poor. Mexico has developed such a program that has significantly improved the health and nutrition of mothers and children and class attendance. On the other hand, federal governments of wealthy nations, who espouse free market operations, can by their actions thwart free trade in order to win elections. We examine how very large agricultural subsidies to American farmers and corporations distort the price of corn and corn products in Mexico in a way that makes it difficult for many small farmers to survive. These subsidies go against the free trade principles of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), signed by the United States, Mexico and Canada in 1994, but are justified by loopholes included in the final text. The concept of sustainable development provides a way of looking at development programs from a long-term view, with the welfare of the next generation in mind. While the poverty program, described above, has been shown to improve the nutrition. health and school attendance of many poor children, so they can expect to lead a better life than their parents, the NAFTA free trade treaty has worked to enrich a few multi-national businesses at the expense of the welfare of many farmers throughout Mexico and North America. Having used organic methods of farming that preserved the land's fertility and productivity, Mexican small farmers now have to leave the land for the over-crowded cities with little hope of making a good livelihood for their families.