February 27, 2002

TRADING OFF
Examining Multiple Perspectives on the Effects of NAFTA on Mexico and the United States

Grades:  6-8, 9-12

Subjects:  Civics, Economics, Geography, Global History, Social Studies

Related New York Times Article
"In Corn's Cradle, U.S. Imports Bury Family Farms, By TIM WEINER", February 27, 2002

OVERVIEW OF LESSON PLAN:
In this lesson, students explore how the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has impacted the people and economies of North America and Mexico.

SUGGESTED TIME ALLOWANCE:   45 minutes - 1 hour

OBJECTIVES:
Student will:

  1. Consider various personas involved in free trade in Mexico and the United States and assess the positive and negative effects that NAFTA may have on these personas.
  2. Explore the impact of free trade between Mexico and the United States, focusing on the corn agribusiness in Mexico, by reading and discussing "In Corn's Cradle, U.S. Imports Bury Family Farms," focusing on the following questions:
  3. Assess, in their assigned personas, their views on the benefits and drawbacks of NAFTA in relation to them as individuals, to the cities in which they live and work, to their country's economy and to the global economy; participate in a town hall meeting in which they represent these personas.
  4. Synthesize the lesson in a one-page reaction piece addressing the success or failure of an objective posed in NAFTA's preamble from their personas.

RESOURCES / MATERIALS:

ACTIVITIES / PROCEDURES:

  1. WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Prior to class, arrange students' desks into seven groups. On each set of desks, place an index card with one of the following personas written on it:
    • Mexican corn farmer operating a very small farm in a central Mexican town
    • Owner of a large animal feed company in Mexico that imports most of the corn used in the feed from the United States to cut costs
    • Owner of an animal feed company in the United States moving your company near the Mexican border to lower your labor costs
    • Factory worker in an animal feed company based in the United States that has just announced that it is closing your factory and moving to Mexico to lower its labor costs
    • Owner of an animal feed factory in Mexico that was bought out by a larger American company
    • Worker in an animal feed factory in Mexico that was just bought out by a larger American company
    • Farmer in the United States wanting to buy the best feed for your livestock for the least amount of money
    Write the following prompt on the board for students to discuss in their groups upon entering class: "In 1992, the United States, Canada and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This trade pact would gradually eliminate most tariffs and other trade barriers on products and services passing between the countries, establishing free trade among them. Imagine that you are the person written on the index card given to your group. Then, as a group, speculate both positive and negative effects that NAFTA may have on you in this persona. One person in your group should take notes." After a few minutes, ask each group to introduce their persona and share their speculations. In general, what can students list as benefits of free trade to all countries involved? Do they think there are inevitable drawbacks, and if so, what are they?
  2. As a class, read and discuss "In Corn's Cradle, U.S. Imports Bury Family Farms," focusing on the following questions:
    1. In what ways is corn a central item in Mexico's culture, history and economy?
    2. The third paragraph states that "the modern world is closing in on the little patch of maize, known as the milpa, that has sustained millions of Mexicans through the centuries." How, according to the article, is this happening? How is American agribusiness seemingly portrayed in this article?
    3. How many Mexicans farm corn, and how many family members are supported by it?
    4. Why is Lorenzo Rebello's "story" similar to others' stories all over Mexico?
    5. How much of the corn in Mexico is imported from the United States, and how has this impacted corn growing in Mexico?
    6. How has NAFTA affected the corn agribusiness in Mexico and in the United States? How do free trade and farm policies differ in this industry in the two countries?
    7. Why does this article use the term "survival instincts" to describe how Mexican corn growers must act?
    8. What have been and will be some of the effects of the United States being "able to export all the corn it wants to Mexico, duty free, by 2008"? What did NAFTA's drafters say would happen, and what has happened?
    9. Why do the small farmers in Mexico "have little political clout under the government of President Vicente Fox"? Why is this mentioned?
    10. What was predicted about the effect of American imports on Mexican agriculture when the trade pact took effect? What was not foreseen?
    11. Why is "the importation of bioengineered corn from the United States ... a separate but heated issue"?
    12. The last three paragraphs of the article offer different opinions on what Mexican farmers will need to do in the future. How do you interpret these different views?
  3. Explain to students that they will be returning to the same personas that they explored in the initial class activity to prepare for and participate in a town hall meeting in Manzanillo, Mexico. All of the different people whom they are representing will be discussing the impact of NAFTA on Mexico's economy as a whole, on them as individuals, and on the city of Manzanillo. To prepare for the town hall meeting, each group should formulate answers to the following questions, using resource materials whenever necessary to ensure accuracy (written on the board for easier student access):
    • Has NAFTA been financially beneficial to you? Why or why not?
    • How has NAFTA impacted your family? How has it impacted the city or town where you live? How has it impacted the city or town where you work?
    • In what ways do you feel that NAFTA helps support your nation's economy? In what ways do you feel it does not?
    • In what ways do you feel that NAFTA helps support the global economy? In what ways do you feel it does not?
    • Which of these related issues apply to you, and what is your opinion on NAFTA's success in addressing them?: environmental clean-up in Mexico, improved worker safety in Mexico, greater job availability, higher wages in Mexico, improved health along the border.
    In a future class, conduct the town hall meeting, allowing representatives from each of the seven groups voice their opinions. At the end, readdress the two discussion questions posed at the beginning of this lesson: With their new "first-hand" understanding of free trade and better knowledge of NAFTA, what do students think are benefits of free trade to all countries involved? Do they think there are inevitable drawbacks, and if so, what are they?
  4. WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: Give each student a copy of the NAFTA preamble (http://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/english/nafta/preamble.htm). Before leaving class, have students in their groups each select a different objective listed in the preamble that they feel applies to the persona examined in class. At home, students continue to take the perspective of this persona and write a one-page reaction piece synthesizing the success or failure of this NAFTA objective from his or her perspective. Writings can be shared in a future class.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

EVALUATION / ASSESSMENT:
Students will be evaluated based on participation in group and class discussions, thoughtful participation in the Manzanillo town hall meeting, and well-written final piece evaluating the success of a NAFTA objective from the perspective of the persona examined in their class groups.

VOCABULARY:
cultivated, sustained, agribusiness, agronomists, mechanized, subsidized, ravaged, stark, subsidies, surpluses, contend, duty, converging, clout, ardent, unforeseen, integration, accelerate, dislocation, modernization, inevitably, pact, succulent, endangered, erosion, bioengineered, demonstrable, sectors, fallow

EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

  1. What does it mean to be a "developing country"? What countries are considered to be developing, and what countries are considered to be industrialized? What countries do not fit into these categories? Color-code a world map to illustrate your findings. Then, identify social, economic and political issues that countries in each category seem to share. Why do you think this is? Choose one country and create an in-depth country profile addressing these issues.
  2. Learn about the history of NAFTA. Who created the trade pact, and what did they hope it would accomplish? How has it specifically impacted all three countries? How have different groups of people in the three countries reacted to various related issues, such as environmental, work safety and employment rate issues that have come to the forefront since NAFTA's inception? Create a series of "What You Need to Know About NAFTA" guides, each addressing citizens of one of the NAFTA countries.
  3. Develop an illustrated glossary of basic economic terms and principles. Be sure to include those mentioned in the article (import, export, free trade, competition, etc.), as well as other key concepts.
  4. How does your country's economy work? Create a flow chart or a "How It Works" poster that illustrates important economic organizations and their leaders, markets, and industries.
  5. Learn about the leaders of Mexico from the early 20th century to today, focusing particularly on their views on foreign policy with the United States, trade with other countries and Mexico's agribusiness. Choose one of these leaders and draft a statement that he or she may read in the town hall debate staged in class.

INTERDISCIPLINARY CONNECTIONS:
American History- Investigate the history and purpose of various taxes in the United States. Work with your parents to create a guide to understanding the history and reasons for different types of taxes that people in your family pay for various reasons, such as capital gains tax, income tax, sales tax and sin tax.

Geography- Learn about the many ways in which corn is a central crop in Mexican culture and society. Then, plan a cooking class to hold with a younger class in your community or school district, in which the traditional Mexican fare created and served use corn a main ingredient and in which you incorporate Mexican corn lore into the creation and serving of the dishes.

Health- What health issues are related to the agriculture industry? Try to interview local experts, including people in the industry and local doctors. Find related news and other articles covering this topic. Then, write a newspaper article synthesizing your findings or a guide to help inform people in agriculture about the dangers of the industry and where they might turn for help.

Mathematics- The article poses many statistics that represent economic trends in the corn agribusiness and free trade between Mexico and the United States. Identify some of these statistics presented in the article. Then, use your mathematical knowledge to determine what will happen if current trends continue in the next ten, twenty and fifty years.

Science- What common animals and plants are the result of cross-fertilization? How do these breeds relate to the idea of bioengineering? Explore the debate supporting and refuting bioengineering, particularly of crops. Find news articles, historic information and other resources to represent the different views in the debate. Then, either stage a debate in class or enact a scenario in which people on both sides of the issue share their views with each other.

Technology- Explore either the history of industrialization or advances in farming in an illustrated timeline.

Copyright 2002
The New York Times Company

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