Instead, all of these problems have increased. The Rio Grande is a worse toxic sewer than before. Critics charged that then-President Salinas had postponed the devaluation in order to make his country's economy appear healthier than it actually was. Accused of corruption and fearful for his life, Salinas now lives in Ireland. They have increased immigration by drawing job-hungry Mexicans close to the border, who then enter the U.S. illegally because wages are so much higher a couple miles away.
Mere citizens get zero.
The 50,000 demonstrators prompted Clinton to support some positions of WTO critics, particularly labor's objection to child labor in Third World countries. His support of labor rights serves to shore up some of Al Gore's strongest constituencies. When the voice of the people is occasionally heard, the powerful squirm. More problematic is how certain critics of anti-democratic globalized trade conveniently overlook immigration as a major component. Ralph Nader has railed against corporate welfare without mentioning that the availability of an endless supply of cheap workers is the biggest corporate trough there is.