David Agren: Everyone is Optimistic About Mexico, Except for Mexicans David Agren - USA Today
go to original February 19, 2014

It was a deal that created the largest free trade region in the world, but 20 years on there is still debate over the benefits of the North America Free Trade Agreement. It is an issue that will be discussed at the Summit in the Mexican city of Toluca on Wednesday. Al Jazeera's Adam Raney reports from Mexico City, taking a look at whether it has helped improve the lives of Mexicans. (Al Jazeera)

MEXICO CITY – When President Obama arrives in Mexico on Wednesday he will find a nation touted by some economists and political figures as on the verge of a great leap forward.

Ordinary Mexicans seem to disagree, though.

This month Moody's raised Mexico's bond rating a full notch, confirming the confidence of investors in the structural reforms that the Mexico government says will grow an economy long lagging behind other Latin American nations.

But on that same day, Mexico's national statistics service released a survey showing that consumer confidence has crashed to its lowest level since the depths of the world economic crisis in 2009.

The pessimism is rooted in worries over rising prices, new taxes and stagnant wages, and respondents were skeptical that the "structural reforms" would help them, according to the survey.

Outside observers and international investors often exhibit more optimism for Mexico and its economy than Mexicans themselves. That's because ordinary Mexicans remember the many past overhauls and privatizations that promised to turn Mexico into an advanced nation but instead created monopolies and underwhelming economic growth, say analysts.

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