Economic Entitlements

In the last two decades of the twentieth century, the economic performance of Mexico was essentially achieved through the expansion of trade and export-oriented industries after import- substitution industrialization from the 1960s, which saw the birth of the maquiladora industry. From 1983 to 1993, after the peso devaluation of February 1982, the annual growth rate of GDP was around 3 percent, while GNI per capita in current US$ was $2,270 in 1983 and rose to $4,230 in 1993, attaining $8,340 in 2007.1 The public debt, including both internal and external debts, represented 62 percent of GDP in December 1983 against 20 percent of GDP in December 1993.2 By the late 1980s, the government had adopted a strategy of economic liberalization and export-led economic growth. Coming into effect on January 1, 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the United States, Mexico, and Canada represents a further step in the process of North American economic integration. It was hoped by its advocates that NAFTA would bring new economic opportunities for Mexico in terms of employment and balance of trade by increasing the level of Mexican exports.