Letter to the Editor, NYT (unpublished)

To the Editor:

Re "U.S. Churches Go 'Green' for Palm Sunday" (April 1): While
certain recent projects, like the eco-palms documented here, may
benefit limited numbers, overall NAFTA has been a disaster for
small-scale Mexican farmers. According to Oxfam, real prices of
Mexican corn have declined by more than 70 percent since NAFTA came
into effect in 1994. Consequently, 15 million small-scale farmers
have seen their way of life become less and less tenable, translating
into a substantial increase in poverty and Mexican immigration to the
U.S. It is no surprise, then, that the trade agreement "has come
under far more criticism than praise."

Sincerely,
Daniel Nemser
San Francisco, CA