In your article “In Mexico, confusion over NAFTA” (Oct. 18, Business), you correctly state that Mexicans generally support NAFTA. Yet the article continues to say that when told of its provisions, the same people say they oppose some of those provisions.
The Mexican Constitution does not assign a specific percentage to foreign investment. It simply states that the Mexican Congress has the power to promulgate laws regarding the regulation of foreign investment.
The 49 percent restriction to which you refer is mentioned in the Law to Promote Mexican Investment and to Regulate Foreign Investment, which was passed in 1973. Yet, pursuant to the regulations issued in 1989, this restriction only applies to a few economic and industrial activities. There are many economic and industrial activities that presently allow for 100 percent foreign ownership of Mexican companies.
This misinformation leads me to wonder how the question was posed when polling public opinion on NAFTA and its provisions.
Finally, Cuauhtemoc Cardenas is not the leader of the National Action Party, also known as PAN. Instead of leading this right-wing party, Mr. Cardenas leads the left-wing Cardenist Front Party.
It is ironic that an article criticizing the mishandling of information in Mexico would contain such errors.
