On the Border

After visiting Mexico and learning about the country's current political and economic status for myself, I began to understand (as only an outsider can) why Mexicans risk their lives and thus the lives of their families to illegally cross the border into America. 

A. Drug cartels have infiltrated Mexico (and the media) by silencing opposition with threats and heinous acts of violence.

B. 18.2% of Mexicans live below the poverty line (that's 20 million people, by the way).  The CIA World Factbook mentioned that "rich nations generally employ more generous standards of poverty than poor nations."  So I'm guessing their poverty looks a bit different than American poverty.  America's response to the poverty =NAFTA.  However, many people criticize NAFTA  for crippling farmers in Mexico by forcing them to compete with cheap (due to subsidies) high-yielding GM corn crops in America.  I believe there is a definite connection between the poverty level and NAFTA.