I found this week’s reading very intriguing because I am interested in contemporary issues and politics. The earthquake in Mexico was a disaster that killed tons of people and inflicted harms to economy in Mexico. The incident also showed flaws of the government due to its inability to handle the situation well and buildings that symbolized the prosperity of Mexico was completely destroyed. The destruction of hospitals, schools and buildings for government institution brought about another serious problem that tied with corruptions. A construction company closely connected to politicians did not use proper materials to build, which led to the huge disaster killing hundreds of people. I was not aware of this problem at all before reading the text and I was also shocked that a number of babies died as a result of the flawed construction.

Poor economic managements Latin America brought harms to those who were in lower class. As a result of recessions, spiraling foreign debts pressured nation’s budget and the problem often refer to as the “lost decade”. This was the also a phenomenon that occurred in Japan in 1990s after an economic recession. I could compare with my home country and Latin America in terms of economic conditions.

Although there had been a dispute whether capitalism was superior to socialism, the collapse of  the USSR proved that capitalism were more effective. Cuba was significantly affected because it was relying economically on the USSR, which created a huge hunger.

Nations that were in struggle could rely on the World Bank or the IMF for the  support. However, in order for them to accept aids, a nation had to embrace rules such as imposing austerity measures and free market without tariffs. However, this brought negative effects especially those in poverty or local farmers. These people opposed the measure because it signified decline in standard living. Especially for local farmers, they now had to compete against big companies with a quality and quantity, which was impossible. As a result, tons of farmers lost their jobs and migrated to urban cities for work, but most likely they could only find dangerous and low paid jobs.

In sum, I really liked this week’s reading because the problems still continue today and free trade such as the NAFTA may benefit the rich so much but increased income disparity. Since Canada has been part of the NAFTA, it is important to pay attention to harms that free trade could inflict upon.