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The
View from
Mexico
: NAFTA, Immigration and Drug Policy
On
June 3rd, 2008 the Alumni Association and the Business
Chapter partnered once again to bring another great speaker and
community leader to the CSUS Breakfast Series.
Alejandra
Bologna, the Consul General for
Mexico
in
Sacramento
was our featured speaker. Consul
General Bologna spoke on the effects of The North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), immigration and the drug problems on both
sides of the border before an audience of approximately 80 people.
On
NAFTA, she pointed out how this agreement has had many benefits on
both sides of the border despite often heard criticisms.
She described how
Mexico
is
California
’s largest trading partner, and as a result of NAFTA,
California
realizes over $15 Billion a year in new revenue from goods and
services sold in
Mexico
. NAFTA has also
helped raise the average family income in
Mexico
, while strengthening the economic health of one of our closest
neighbors.
On
immigration she shared this is also a problem for
Mexico
.
Mexico
is losing some of its best and brightest citizens to the call of
opportunities north of the border, and the Mexican Government is
working hard to develop the jobs and growth needed to keep its
citizens home. She
also touched on guest-worker programs, and shared while
governments in
Canada
and The European Common Market have guest worker programs; it is
up to the government of the
United States
to decide how to balance the need for labor with border security
and immigration reform.
On
the drug issue, she shared the Mexican government is working
closely with American drug enforcement agencies, but the problem
is not only one of supply from
Mexico
, but demand in the
United States
as well. In one ironic
twist to the growing health of the Mexican economy, Consul General
Bologna pointed out that with its increased income; Mexico now has
a growing drug use problem as well.
Mexico
is no longer just a pass through nation for illegal drugs from
South America to the
United States
, but is also an end user.
The
Business Chapter would like to thank Paul Finn, Account Manager
with the United States Postal Service, and Marc Fechner, Director
of Supply Chain and Logistics with Vision Service Plan. Without
their efforts this event would not have been possible.
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