NAFTA has been so successful the "coyotes" who smuggle the poor of Mexico have raised their rates to what the market can now afford. ICE buddies advise the going rate was $500 ten years ago, now runs $2000.
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I'm not sure what that statistic proves. From china it runs $60,000 / a head.
On NAFTA and its success:
http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=20&artnum=2&issue=20051118
Chavez attacked Fox precisely because Mexico is one of the world's leading emblems of free trade. It has signed 27 trade pacts, more than any other country except Chile, and not just with the U.S. and Canada. It's also doing business with heavies like Japan, the European Union, South Korea and rising stars like Chile. It's about to sign another with Central America.
Naysayers warned that Mexico would drag the bigger economies down. At the same time, they claimed free trade would impoverish Mexico as big corporations somehow took over.
Instead, Mexico's gross domestic product has doubled to $1 trillion.In terms of GDP per capita, Mexico's was $6,090 in 1995 while Venezuela's was $5,640. By 2002, Venezuela's under Chavez was $5,380 and Mexico's under Fox was $8,970.
Markets tell an even stronger story: In 1987, the capitalizations of the Mexican and Venezuelan stock markets were roughly the same at $10 billion, according to Venezuelan investment banker Miguel Octavio. Today, Mexico's market cap is close to $164 billion, while Venezuela's is less than $5 billion.