How Mexico Will Save The West

#mexico #economics #PikeProductions

With dramatic shifts in geopolitical alignments, Mexico is poised to be a key player in the future economy of The West. Mexicans of all economic classes are likely to benefit from these new realities.

Big thanks to the History of Mexico Podcast. Check them out here: https://juliojccs1992.podbean.com/

✅ This channel is made possible by Patreon support:   / apd23   ✅

Main sources come from the works of Mariana Campero and Andrew D. Selee. All sources are made available to select tier patrons. (Or broke students who email me).

Chapters:
00:00 - Legacy of Carlos Salinas
01:08 - Pros of NAFTA
10:17 - Integration of Border Cities
12:16 - Lasting effects of NAFTA
13:21 - Cons of NAFTA
16:08 - Politicization of NAFTA
17:40 - Who is AMLO?
19:59 - Economic Integration of North America
22:06 - Saving NAFTA
23:26 - Canada Causes Problems
29:13 - Who is Chrystia Freeland?
35:54 - The New NAFTA
36:33 - The American Consumer Market
37:13 - Mexico vs China
44:43 - Germany and Mexico
48:08 - The Future of Mexico
49:38 - Why the World Needs Mexico


Required Attributions:

Hall of the Mountain King by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Cumbia No Frills Faster by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Abridged script:

President Carlos Salinas forever changed Mexico and the North American continent. He transitioned Mexico into a free market economy, ushered in Democracy, and was the driving force behind NAFTA, the largest free trade zone in the world.

But the end of the Salinas administration would be marked by a currency devaluation strategy that went horrifically wrong. This economic catastrophe, along with corruption allegations, destroyed the president’s reputation. To learn more about this critical time in Mexican history, check out the previous part in this series.

Otherwise, stay here to learn how NAFTA linked the destiny of rall Three Amigos. For better or worse, the three North American economies are handcuffed to each other. The three federations will either prosper or fail as one.

But the evidence shows that North Americans should feel pretty good about their economic future. Here’s why.

US politician Ross Perot predicted that NAFTA would create a giant sucking sound of US jobs going south. While correct, Perot failed to see that the giant sucking sound would flow in every direction imaginable, and even suck in jobs from Europe and Asia.

Yes, it is true that a lot of US jobs and investment went south. But a lot of Mexican investment also went north. Take for example Rassini, one of the biggest brake manufacturers in the world. A majority of North American pickups use parts manufactured by this Mexican based company. While officially headquartered in the state of Coahuila, Rassini built two main manufacturing hubs in Michigan and Ohio, all thanks to NAFTA.


Rassini isn’t unique. There are several other Mexican based companies that also expanded manufacturing in the north. Vitro, which makes car windows, is headquartered near Monterrey. And they built six manufacturing hubs in the US and four customer service centers in Canada.

There is also Nemak, a key supplier of engine heads and blocks. Also headquartered near Monterrey, Nemak expanded manufacturing in the US and Canada.

These are not anecdotal examples. Car manufacturing across the continent is deeply integrated in all three countries. Today, there is no such thing as a Canadian car, a US car, nor a Mexican car. There is only a North American car. Instead of trading with each other, the Three Amigos build together.

In the 1970s and 80s, there was a legitimate fear that North American manufacturing would be crushed by Asian competition. But thanks to NAFTA, those fears were mitigated. Today, the United States exports about 1.6 million cars per year, and they were built with components from both Mexico and Canada. This high volume of exports would be impossible without NAFTA.

Mexico’s contribution to the North American economy goes well beyond cheap labor. Mexico also provides a lot of brain power. Starting in 1996, Mexico made big investments into training their own engineers. In some years, Mexico had more engineering graduates than either of its northern neighbors. This investment greatly expanded the Mexican middle class, while also attracting additional foreign investment.