Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch Staff, NAFTA's Broken Promises: The Border Betrayed.

• Author: Madsen, Scott

PUBLIC CITIZEN'S GLOBAL TRADE WATCH STAFF, NAFTA'S BROKEN PROMISES: THE BORDER BETRAYED, Public Citizen, Inc., Washington, D.C. (1996); ($15.00); ISBN 0.937188-03-4; 82 pp. (paperback).

NAFTA's Broken Promises attempts to answer the question: Will the passage of NAFTA exacerbate our environmental problems or give us effective mechanisms to ameliorate them? The authors answered this question by gathering environmental health evidence on the U.S.- Mexico border conditions between 1993 and 1995. The evidence included interviews with academics, activists, medical doctors, representatives from NAFTA, the United States and Mexico, and hundreds of articles. The research revealed two results. First, NAFTA has failed a "do no further harm test" for U.S.- Mexico border environmental and health conditions. Second, two years of NAFTA data show that NAFTA is not on target to satisfy its proponent's promises in the future.

The book is divided into seven chapters which describe different elements of the environmental research gathered. Chapter one details the broken promise that NAFTA would decrease the number of "maquilladoras," U.S. owned manufacturing plants, in Mexico. In fact, statistics showed a 20 percent increase in maquilladora workers from 1993 to 1995. In addition, the devaluation of the peso and high interest rates further increased the environmental cleanup costs in Mexico.

Chapter two examines the increase in border hazardous waste generated under NAFTA. Data revealed not only an increase in hazardous waste, but also, that much of it has been washed down the drain. Further, resources for hazardous waste management have not improved since NAFTA. The third chapter discusses the increased incidence of neural birth defects in the border area. Although a direct link has yet to be proven, the higher than average rate of birth defects correlates to the high pollution levels in the border area.

Chapter four...