What's especially perplexing is the fact that we were told that NAFTA was going to result in all the jobs going to Mexico. Whatever happened to that?
We're told these people only come here to work. But if all the jobs are in Mexico that must mean they are here for something other than work.
Could it be the government handouts that are attracting these people?
This seems to be the author's point. All the trade agreements, foreign aid, job programs, etc. won't mean squat if people don't have private property rights, because this is the only way to create, accumulate and transfer wealth.
I know a lot of the automotive component stuff that went down there 10 yrs ago has since moved to China. Wages there are half or third of Mexico, plus a more educated workforce.
One analysis I've heard is that NAFTA, by flooding the Mexican market with government subsidized corn from the US, put a whole lot of Mexican farmers out of work. The author of this article seems to be hinting at this when he states:
"A great deal of agricultural labor clearly became uneconomic and millions of peasants moved to Mexico City where they set up shanties and encampments."