Word: nafta
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...realized how strong residents' resentment toward Washington and Mexico City has become--how much, in the words of Juarez mayor Gustavo Elizondo, they've begun to feel like a neglected 'third country.' The warning from leaders like Elizondo is that if the border buckles under the increasing demands of NAFTA, then NAFTA too will suffer." Elizondo punctuated that point during the interview by throwing a tea cookie across his office, as if tossing it to a beggar--the way, he said, the feds treat the border...
...These NAFTA Men--and a few women--are genetically engineered by the new border economy. Managers are taught to take a different route to work every day to foil potential kidnappers. They grow accustomed to training--and losing--an entire factory floor of workers every year. And they have discovered that "casual Friday" in McAllen is often a dress-up workday on the other side. Around here, the most valuable asset is their flexibility. "You have to switch gears in Mexico--and not just languages. You have a behavior shift too," says Charles Taliaferro, 49, who runs maquila operations...
...says. The Mexican trucks are serviceable but spare: Luna's lacks the global-positioning systems found in some U.S. rigs, or even air conditioning. For years Mexican truckers were permitted to drive only 20 miles into the U.S. before transferring their loads to American haulers. But a NAFTA panel ruled last February that the U.S. must soon allow Mexican trucks access to the whole country. U.S. truckers say the Mexican rigs aren't safe--and the drivers aren't qualified...
...want to understand the gold rush, you've got to know the prospectors. The reason that Laredo and nearby McAllen, Texas, are two of the top 10 fastest-growing metro areas in the U.S. is mainly owing to NAFTA and its progeny: NAFTA...
...NAFTA Man is not only bilingual, he's also bicultural. He speaks Spanish on the factory floor in Mexico but yells in English at his kids' T-ball games. He knows when to offer a bribe in Mexico (to a traffic cop) and when not to (during an environmental inspection). He prefers chile rellenos to pot roast, gets his allergy medicine in Mexico but his MRI in the U.S. He has a two-sided wallet for pesos and dollars and would practically kill for a cell phone that works in both countries. "We don't know who we are," laughs...