From the Publisher's Desk
The North American Union Plan
Largely unnoticed and unreported by mainstream media in North America is a plan called the North American Union* hatched in 2005 by President Bush of the US, Prime Minister Martin of Canada and President Fox of Mexico. The plan has fallen under the radar of political journalists because it is a highly controversial work-in-progress on which the three governments are working behind closed doors. It is, to put it simply, a plan to form a European Union-type coalition in North America by 2010. If it comes to fruition, borders will disappear, trade and immigration will be free-flowing and, presumably, one standard currency will prevail.
I mention this because in thinking of this plan coming into effect in 2010, I realized it will have considerable effect particularly on business practices in Mexico. Americans and Canadians generally (almost genetically) require and expect written regulations to govern business practices. As importantly, they expect rules to be followed. With open borders more American and Canadian businessmen and companies will move to invest and live in Mexico, bringing these expectations with them.
 
A huge ‘NAFTA’ highway, one quarter of a mile wide, is already being built in Texas, where private land is being expropriated, and will eventually reach the Canadian border to the north and Mexican border to the south. It will become a broad, fast flowing river of millions of trucks transporting billions of dollars worth of merchandise through a continent without borders.
 
The Plan does not sit well with those few who have pushed aside the curtain and looked behind government doublespeak. Sovereignty over natural resources, currency, culture, and immigration are the tip of a mountain of concerns expressed by citizens of the three countries.
 
We must remember that the European Union went through a long, difficult birth and stands today as an economic triumph, against considerable odds.
In my opinion, a North American Union is inevitable. Its ramifications on Mexico will far exceed those on Canada and the US, which share a similar culture. The question then becomes what can Mexico, and specifically Mazatlán, do to prepare itself for the future.
That´s a question we are now researching. Watch this column in coming months for our suggestions.
Michael J. Veselik
Publisher
*now called the ‘Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America’
To search for it look it up at www.google.com