How Business Views Mexico

On the day of an important election we get analysis of the competing candidates from corporate risk management spokesperson, Pamela Starr of the Eurasia Group. We learn a few choice things during this interview. We hear that the US government is "fairly sure they're not going to get another Hugo Chavez." Debbie Elliot asks Starr, "there are some reports in the press that Obrador may be more open to relationships with Latin American leftist policies--is that something the United States should be worried about?" Interesting, just who is this United States? It's definitely not me--leftist policies in Latin America are fine by me. We also learn that US corporations are exporting some production processes to Mexico and that our economy depends on "using Mexico to keep its global costs of production low." I wonder how that impacts US worker wages and the standard of living for Mexicans? Are there any connections between this outsourcing and immigration issues? Starr also concludes that to export these "production processes" it "needs the Mexican economy to be sound." Sound for who? The wealthy Mexicans? The wealthy US CEOs? It's not that NPR shouldn't let us know what the corporate sector thinks--this is important since they do hold immense power and influence. But here are a few interesting sources for alternative views: the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre and Human Rights Watch.