Institutions, Power Relations and Unequal Integration in the Americas: NAFTA as Deficient Institutionality

At the Summit of the Americas in Miami, December 1994, the heads of 34 nations in the western hemisphere, led by President Clinton, committed themselves to establishing a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by the year 2005. They reconvened in Santiago, Chile, in early 1998 to formally launch the FTAA negotiations. According to the documents signed by the leaders, this massive integration effort will herald a new era of equity, growth and sustainable development. Whether it will actually do so may be questioned by looking at the experience of NAFTA, which has led the integration process in the Americas and has been seen as a model for integration.