Através de dois artigos -- um de revisão bibliográfica e um empírico --, este trabalho analisa a opinião pública mexicana sobre os efeitos do NAFTA -- Tratado Norte-Americano de Livre Comércio -- em 2010, após 16 anos de sua entrada em vigor. Explora-se o caso mexicano com o objetivo de se alcançar uma compreensão mais atualizada sobre como as populações latino-americanas respondem aos efeitos de uma das facetas da reestruturação neoliberal -- os acordos regionais de comércio --, superado o traumático impacto inicial sobre a estrutura de produção e de consumo dos países. Tendo em vista que o tema da opinião pública ainda é alvo de críticas e centro de um caloroso debate dentro das comunidades acadêmicas e das esferas de poder político, e que sua utilização, tanto para fins de pesquisa acadêmica quanto para justificação de políticas públicas, ainda é questionada, o primeiro artigo se apoia em prática e evidências científicas para demonstrar que a opinião pública é um fenômeno estável, mensurável e, em última instância, previsível. Estabelece-se neste primeiro artigo uma revisão bibliográfica e uma agenda para a análise da relação entre opinião pública e política externa. Justificada a utilização da opinião pública como evidência científica concreta e confiável, parte-se no segundo artigo, através de uma sondagem de opinião pública realizada em 2010, à análise dos níveis de avaliação dos efeitos do NAFTA e as diferenças nestes níveis entre os distintos estratos sociais mexicanos em um estudo transversal. Busca-se através desta abordagem uma maior elucidação e esclarecimento sobre os efeitos econômicos e, principalmente, sociais do NAFTA na população mexicana, visto que desde sua entrada em vigor há bastante divergência sobre os mesmos. Primeiramente, abordam-se os pressupostos teóricos para a compreensão do significado histórico, econômico e social do NAFTA, para então se analisar os dados e se realizar o estudo transversal de associação entre a avaliação do público dos efeitos do acordo e algumas variáveis demográficas -- sexo, idade, escolaridade e região -- e partidárias -- lealdade partidária. Com base nesta análise, concluir-se-á que o trauma econômico inicial com a aceleração de tendências provocada pelo NAFTA foi, em grande parte, superado: 62,8% dos mexicanos acreditam que o acordo regional de comércio foi muito ou algo benéfico ao país; entretanto, a partir da realização do estudo transversal, depreende-se que essa aprovação não é compartilhada -- pelo menos não em tamanha intensidade -- por todos os estratos da sociedade mexicana: a associação mais forte encontrada é com a região geográfica do país. As percepções sobre os efeitos do acordo foram bastante diferenciadas entre a região norte industrializada, onde ele promoveu desenvolvimento e distribuição de renda, e a região sul agrária, onde ele intensificou a pobreza e a desigualdade social. / Through two papers -- a literature review and an empirical analysis -- this research examines the Mexican public opinion on the effects of the NAFTA -- North American Free Trade Agreement -- in 2010, 16 years after its entry into force. The Mexican case is explored in order to achieve a more updated understanding on how the Latin American populations respond to one of the neoliberal restructuring facets -- the regional trade agreements --, overcomed the initial traumatic impact on the production and consume structure of these countries. Bearing in mind that the theme of public opinion is still target of criticism and center of a heated debate within the academic communities and spheres of political power, and that its use, both for academic research purposes and for reasons of public policy, is still questioned, the first paper is based on experience and scientific evidence to demonstrate that public opinion is a stable, measurable and ultimately predictable phenomenon. It is established in this first paper a literature review and an agenda for the analysis of the relationship between public opinion and foreign policy. Justified the use of public opinion as a concrete and reliable scientific evidence, the second paper analyzes, using a public opinion survey held in 2010, the levels of assessment on the effects of the NAFTA and the differences in these levels among the different strata in Mexican society through a cross-sectional study. The aim of this approach is to achieve a further elucidation and clarification on the economic and, especially, social effects of the NAFTA on the Mexican population, since there is much disagreement about such effects. At first, the theoretical assumptions are addressed in order to explain the historical, economical and social significance of the NAFTA, then the data is analyzed and it is carried out the cross-sectional study of association between the public\'s assessment of the effects of the agreement and some demographic variables -- sex, age, education and region -- and partisan variables -- party loyalty. Based on this analysis, it will be concluded that the initial economic trauma due to the acceleration of trends caused by the NAFTA was largely surpassed: 62.8% of Mexicans believe that the regional trade agreement was somewhat or very beneficial to their country; however, through the cross-sectional study, it emerges that such approval is not shared -- at least not so intensively -- by all strata of the Mexican society: the strongest association is found within the geographic region variable. Perceptions on the effects of the agreement were quite different between the industrialized north, where it promoted development and income distribution, and the agrarian south, where it intensified poverty and social inequality.

Através de dois artigos -- um de revisão bibliográfica e um empírico --, este trabalho analisa a opinião pública mexicana sobre os efeitos do NAFTA -- Tratado Norte-Americano de Livre Comércio -- em 2010, após 16 anos de sua entrada em vigor. Explora-se o caso mexicano com o objetivo de se alcançar uma compreensão mais atualizada sobre como as populações latino-americanas respondem aos efeitos de uma das facetas da reestruturação neoliberal -- os acordos regionais de comércio --, superado o traumático impacto inicial sobre a estrutura de produção e de consumo dos países. Tendo em vista que o tema da opinião pública ainda é alvo de críticas e centro de um caloroso debate dentro das comunidades acadêmicas e das esferas de poder político, e que sua utilização, tanto para fins de pesquisa acadêmica quanto para justificação de políticas públicas, ainda é questionada, o primeiro artigo se apoia em prática e evidências científicas para demonstrar que a opinião pública é um fenômeno estável, mensurável e, em última instância, previsível. Estabelece-se neste primeiro artigo uma revisão bibliográfica e uma agenda para a análise da relação entre opinião pública e política externa. Justificada a utilização da opinião pública como evidência científica concreta e confiável, parte-se no segundo artigo, através de uma sondagem de opinião pública realizada em 2010, à análise dos níveis de avaliação dos efeitos do NAFTA e as diferenças nestes níveis entre os distintos estratos sociais mexicanos em um estudo transversal. Busca-se através desta abordagem uma maior elucidação e esclarecimento sobre os efeitos econômicos e, principalmente, sociais do NAFTA na população mexicana, visto que desde sua entrada em vigor há bastante divergência sobre os mesmos. Primeiramente, abordam-se os pressupostos teóricos para a compreensão do significado histórico, econômico e social do NAFTA, para então se analisar os dados e se realizar o estudo transversal de associação entre a avaliação do público dos efeitos do acordo e algumas variáveis demográficas -- sexo, idade, escolaridade e região -- e partidárias -- lealdade partidária. Com base nesta análise, concluir-se-á que o trauma econômico inicial com a aceleração de tendências provocada pelo NAFTA foi, em grande parte, superado: 62,8% dos mexicanos acreditam que o acordo regional de comércio foi muito ou algo benéfico ao país; entretanto, a partir da realização do estudo transversal, depreende-se que essa aprovação não é compartilhada -- pelo menos não em tamanha intensidade -- por todos os estratos da sociedade mexicana: a associação mais forte encontrada é com a região geográfica do país. As percepções sobre os efeitos do acordo foram bastante diferenciadas entre a região norte industrializada, onde ele promoveu desenvolvimento e distribuição de renda, e a região sul agrária, onde ele intensificou a pobreza e a desigualdade social. / Through two papers -- a literature review and an empirical analysis -- this research examines the Mexican public opinion on the effects of the NAFTA -- North American Free Trade Agreement -- in 2010, 16 years after its entry into force. The Mexican case is explored in order to achieve a more updated understanding on how the Latin American populations respond to one of the neoliberal restructuring facets -- the regional trade agreements --, overcomed the initial traumatic impact on the production and consume structure of these countries. Bearing in mind that the theme of public opinion is still target of criticism and center of a heated debate within the academic communities and spheres of political power, and that its use, both for academic research purposes and for reasons of public policy, is still questioned, the first paper is based on experience and scientific evidence to demonstrate that public opinion is a stable, measurable and ultimately predictable phenomenon. It is established in this first paper a literature review and an agenda for the analysis of the relationship between public opinion and foreign policy. Justified the use of public opinion as a concrete and reliable scientific evidence, the second paper analyzes, using a public opinion survey held in 2010, the levels of assessment on the effects of the NAFTA and the differences in these levels among the different strata in Mexican society through a cross-sectional study. The aim of this approach is to achieve a further elucidation and clarification on the economic and, especially, social effects of the NAFTA on the Mexican population, since there is much disagreement about such effects. At first, the theoretical assumptions are addressed in order to explain the historical, economical and social significance of the NAFTA, then the data is analyzed and it is carried out the cross-sectional study of association between the public\'s assessment of the effects of the agreement and some demographic variables -- sex, age, education and region -- and partisan variables -- party loyalty. Based on this analysis, it will be concluded that the initial economic trauma due to the acceleration of trends caused by the NAFTA was largely surpassed: 62.8% of Mexicans believe that the regional trade agreement was somewhat or very beneficial to their country; however, through the cross-sectional study, it emerges that such approval is not shared -- at least not so intensively -- by all strata of the Mexican society: the strongest association is found within the geographic region variable. Perceptions on the effects of the agreement were quite different between the industrialized north, where it promoted development and income distribution, and the agrarian south, where it intensified poverty and social inequality.

Submitted by Irene Nascimento (irene.kessia@ufpe.br) on 2016-10-13T19:12:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Mestrado PPEQ - Alexsandro Fausto de Araújo.pdf: 3235090 bytes, checksum: e4c74119c72ea3471a47fb36a515e632 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-13T19:12:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Mestrado PPEQ - Alexsandro Fausto de Araújo.pdf: 3235090 bytes, checksum: e4c74119c72ea3471a47fb36a515e632 (MD5) Previous issue date: 1998-11-13 / Com a crescente exigência dos mercados e da sociedade por produtos derivados do petróleo cada vez mais livres de contaminantes que prejudicam o meio ambiente e a qualidade dos mesmos, os parques de refino de petróleo vêm investindo cada vez mais em tecnologias que permitam uma produção mais limpa, rentável e econômica. Desse modo, O hidrotratamento tem assumido um papel cada vez mais importante dentro das refinarias, sendo aplicado em diversos cortes do petróleo, desde os mais leves até os mais pesados. O hidrotratamento consiste na adição de hidrogênio na carga a ser hidrotratada com o propósito de, através de reações de hidrogenação, reduzir ou eliminar os componentes contaminantes presentes na carga, como o enxofre, nitrogênio, oxigênio, olefinas, diolefinas e metais. A adição de hidrogênio é feita em cocorrente descendente, onde a carga e o hidrogênio entram misturados e pré aquecidos no topo do reator a uma razão pré-definida (Razão H2/Carga), sendo esta forma a mais utilizada em escala industrial devido aos seus inúmeros benefícios. O foco da unidade de HDT é o reator, pois é nele que os contaminantes são removidos da carga. O tipo de reator mais utilizado é o de leito fixo (Trickle Bed Reactor - TBR). A nafta é a principal matéria prima do setor petroquímico nacional, de modo que todas as unidades instaladas são baseadas nela. A partir dela são produzidos os componentes da primeira geração do setor petroquímico. O HDT de nafta ainda é um tema pouco explorado mas que vem recebendo maior importância nos últimos anos. Por isso, este trabalho foi desenvolvido sobre esse tema, construindo e simulando modelos dinâmicos de reatores de leito fixo, com alimentação em cocorrente de uma unidade reacional de HDT de nafta, composta por um reator trifásico de conversão de diolefinas, utilizado para o pré-tratamento da nafta de coqueamento retardado e dois reatores bifásicos (G-S) de HDT de nafta, dispostos em série com resfriamento por quenchs independentes entre os leitos dos reatores e entre os reatores, para a redução de teores de enxofre, nitrogênio e olefinas presentes na nafta através das reações de hidrodessulfurização, hidrodesnitrogenação e saturação de olefinas. Foram construídos dois programas em ambiente MATLAB®, um para simular o reator trifásico de conversão diolefinas e outro para os reatores bifásicos de HDT de nafta, ambos simularam correntes de alimentação de nafta com diferentes níveis de contaminação, para que fossem avaliados os efeitos. Os programas simularam os perfis dinâmicos das temperaturas das fases envolvidas e das concentrações dos contaminantes e hidrogênio. Os resultados obtidos para o reator de conversão de diolefinas e os reatores de HDT de nafta se mostraram bem coerentes com relação aos fenômenos envolvidos. O reator de conversão de diolefinas atingiu o estado estacionário aos 80 minutos e os reatores de HDT de nafta aos 2 minutos, com os teores de contaminantes próximos de zero na saída do reator. Os resultados das simulações realizadas para os dois tipos de nafta apresentaram perfis dinâmicos semelhantes diferindo apenas quanto à temperatura mais elevada atingida no início do primeiro reator de HDT de nafta no caso da nafta com maior teor de contaminação. / With the growing demand of markets and society by oil products increasingly free of contaminants that harm the environment and their quality, oil refining plants have been increasingly investing in technologies to cleaner production, profitable and economical. Thus, the hydrotreating has assumed an increasingly important role in the refinery and is used in many petroleum cuts, from the lightest to the heaviest. The hydrotreating is the addition of hydrogen in the load to be hydrotreated in order to, via hydrogenation reactions, reduce or eliminate the contaminating components present in the load, such as sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, olefins, diolefins and metals. The addition of hydrogen is done in descending current, where load and hydrogen enter mixed and pre heated at the top of the reactor to a pre-defined (ratio H2/Oil), and this way the most used at industrial scale due to its numerous benefits. The focus of the HDT unit is the reactor, because that is where the contaminants are removed from the load. The most used type of reactor is the fixed bed (Trickle Bed Reactor - TBR). Naphtha is the main raw material of the national petrochemical industry, so that all installed units are based on it. From there, the components of the first generation of the petrochemical industry are produced. The naphtha HDT is still a subject little explored but it's getting more important in recent years. Therefore, this study was conducted on this issue, building and simulating dynamic models of fixed bed reactors with feed in cocurrente of a reactional unit of HDT naphtha, consisting of a three-phase reactor diolefins conversion, used for pretreatment naphtha delayed coking and two dual-phase reactors (G-S) naphtha HDT arranged in series with cooling by independent quenchs between beds of the reactor and between the reactors to reduce contents of sulfur, nitrogen and olefins present in the naphtha through reactions of hydrodesulfurization, hidrodesnitrogenação and saturation of olefins. Were built two programs in MATLAB®, one to simulate the three-phase reactor diolefins conversion and one for the dual-phase reactors naphtha HDT, both simulated currents naphtha feed with different levels of contamination, so that the effects are assessed. The simulated programs dynamic profiles of the temperatures of the phases involved and the concentrations of contaminants and hydrogen. The results obtained for diolefins conversion reactor and the reactors of naphtha HDT were well consistent with relation to the phenomena involved. The diolefins conversion reactor reached steady state at 80 minutes and the HDT reactors naphtha after 2 minutes, with near zero contaminant levels in the reactor output. The results of simulation performed for the two types of naphtha showed similar dynamic profiles differing only as to the highest temperature reached at the beginning of the first naphtha HDT reactor in the case of naphtha higher contamination level.

The North American Free Trade Agreement continues to be a controversial topic, and with the impending implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, NAFTA has been a heavily discussed issue during the 2016 presidential campaign. Past research has critically assessed the extent to which NAFTA delivered on promises made by its lobbyists to improve economic welfare and stimulate growth in the North American markets, via trade and investment. These studies explain that NAFTA has helped to boost intra-regional trade and investment flows in North America, but has fallen short on any substantial improvements in welfare and deeper regional economic integration. However, researchers have found evidence for convergence among North American equity markets, and argue that this is generated by NAFTA. Using time series data from 1990 to 2007, this study builds on these conclusions to examine how NAFTA impacted equity markets in the North American region. I look at returns to each major stock index for Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, and find evidence that returns on these indexes improve in the post-NAFTA period for Mexico and the U.S., but not for Canada. Additionally, there is evidence to suggest that exports and FDI are the primary drivers for this improvement in stock returns.

In January, 2009, I joined Bikes Across Borders, a local grassroots organization, on their yearly bike caravan to Mexico. The group works to promote bicycles, both here and in Mexico, as an environmentally and financially sound alternative to motorized transportation. Each winter, members ride bicycles they build out of salvaged parts to border cities in Mexico. They give these bicycles to maquiladora workers who would otherwise spend a large portion of their income on transportation. These workers make a fraction of what they would in the U.S. and live in shacks amid the pollution from the factories they work in. This is the story of one group’s attempt at making a difference in the lives of these workers. / text

The United States and Mexico share responsibility in preserving the quality of their international river system, the Rio Grande / Río Bravo, and several international treaties govern the quantity of water each country must give and take. Because no treaty establishes joint standards for the quality of the river, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) was created in 1993 as a declaration of principles and objectives concerning the conservation and the protection of the environment as well as a guide of concrete measures to further cooperate on these matters. One particular goal of the NAAEC was to improve water quality in the US-Mexico Border Region, ensuring a clean, safe, and reliable water supply for the area. Although the US and Mexican federal governments have made substantial technical and financial commitments through binational agencies like the North American Development Bank (NADB) and the Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), few empirical studies have assessed the impact of binational expenditures on wastewater infrastructure in this region. This report uses longitudinal panel data regression models to estimate the impact of capital expenditures on water quality made by binational, federal, and state water quality management institutions from 1995 to 2012. This analysis considers expenditures made on both sides of the Rio Grande watershed that constitutes the international border, beginning with El Paso, Texas and ending in the Gulf of Mexico. / text

Katarína Jakabová Abstract ABSTRACT Procedural aspects of the dispute settlement in international economic law The dispute settlement in the international economic law of nowadays takes place under more institutionalized mechanism as in the past half-century. The aim is clear: better enforceability of the law (of the award) based on the fast and efficient "under one roof" procedure. This thesis focuses on the procedural aspects of the dispute settlement within the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Each of these three organizations has its own special dispute settlement procedure, which is above all distinctive from the international trade law by having at least one (member) state as a party to a dispute. I have chosen WTO because it regulates the disputes on a state-state level arising from all the WTO agreements between all WTO members, which makes it the biggest (and very effective, let's admit) dispute settling platform worldwide. ICSID is the first and most popular mixed arbitration allowing a non-state party (an investor) to be a party to a dispute. And finally, NAFTA, even if it is on a substantial level complementing the WTO agreements, represents their competitive version on the...

Magíster en Estrategia Internacional y Política Comercial / El presente estudio, abordó 20 acuerdos laborales adoptados por EEUU y Canadá desde el NAFTA a la fecha, agrupándolos en el caso estadounidense en cuatro categorías, ACLAN, jordano, jordano plus y de última generación, y por parte de Canadá en tres estándares, ACLAN, canadiense y canadiense plus. Como método, se utilizaron cinco criterios para medir la evolución del alcance de las cláusulas laborales, a saber, redacción del compromiso; derechos protegidos; fuentes del derecho; nivel de protección; y garantías procesales. Mientras que para efectos de medir la eficacia de los mecanismos de solución de controversias, se utilizaron como guías las preguntas;¿quién está facultado para presentar quejas?, ¿cuál es el procedimiento establecido?,¿qué tipo de sanciones están estipuladas? y ¿cuál ha sido la evolución de las reclamaciones presentadas? Todos los acuerdos fueron analizados bajo el prisma de la clasificación internacionalista entre soft law y hard law, entendidos gradualmente. Como resultados, los acuerdos de última generación adoptados por EEUU nos demuestran importantes avances en cuanto a precisión, eficacia y delimitación de la cláusula laboral, y en torno a la eficacia normativa y práctica de los mecanismos de solución de controversia, lo que acerca nítidamente a ambos, hacia una mayor dureza de las obligaciones. Por su parte, los acuerdos canadiense plus, adoptados por Canadá nos demuestran avances relevantes en cuanto a precisión, eficacia y delimitación del alcance de la cláusula laboral, que la acerca hacia una mayor dureza de sus obligaciones. Además, observamos una cierta evolución hacía una mayor eficacia normativa general de los mecanismos de solución de controversias, caracterizados por una combinación equilibrada entre rasgos de hard law y soft law. Así las cosas, respecto a los modelos de EEUU y Canadá, es posible comprobar la hipótesis del estudio de caso, pues con el paso de los años y la adopción de nuevos TLCs, las cláusulas van siendo cada vez más precisas y los mecanismos de solución de controversias más eficaces.

Thesis advisor: David Deese / In recent years, the rise in the formation of regional organizations such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Mercado Común Del Sur (Mercosur) has drawn an increasing amount of attention from political scientists and economists. However, countries preparing for entry into regional organizations have the challenging task of promoting both economic and social integration. When preparing for accession into regional organizations, Mexico and Argentina implemented multiple changes in their economic and political practices. As a result of these changes, citizens who perceived themselves to be excluded from the benefits of regional integration formed social movements such as the Zapatista Army for National Liberation and El Movimiento de las Mujeres en Lucha to voice their opposition. This thesis explores the policy changes made as Mexico and Argentina prepared for accession into regional organizations, the social movements formed in opposition to these changes, and the responses formulated by Mexico's and Argentina's leaders in reaction to these movements. I conclude that countries preparing for entry into regional organizations must implement policies which address the political concerns of these groups, rather than simply their economic concerns. Failure to do so will lead to deep social divisions which will hinder the formation and development of regional organizations. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2008. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science. / Discipline: Political Science Honors Program. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

This study critically examines rulings of Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) tribunals. Under the North American Free Trade Agreement’s (NAFTA) Chapter 11, ISDS provides foreign investors with the tools to launch a claim against signatory countries should they feel their investment was inhibited by local regulations. Empirically this study draws upon Windstream Energy LLC. v. the Government of Canada as a case study to analyze the competing responses exchanged during the tribunal’s hearings. The claim by Windstream Energy LLC against the Government of Ontario (GoO) serves as both a central and relevant example for examining the ramifications of ISDS, as it is one of Canada’s most recent defeats featuring the largest award outside a pre-tribunal ISDS settlement. Information was drawn from tribunal documents, referred to as a Memorial and Counter Memorial, which outline each party’s argument and supporting claims. Additionally, the tribunal publishes their final decision and justifications. A critical discourse analysis method, theoretically informed by the corporate crime literature and Gramsci’s theory of hegemony, helps in critically examining the economic, political, and cultural assumptions that influenced the tribunal’s decision and the state’s approach to foreign investment. Overall, dominant voices reinforced neoliberal beliefs about transnational market expectations and the role of the state under a globalized capitalist system. Justifications rooted in market logics prioritized the accumulation of foreign capital over the potential dangers of Windstream’s project. Ultimately, it is the inclusion of corporate safeguards, like ISDS, in free trade pacts that help to (re)produce neoliberal capitalist ideals and further reinforce status-quo economic relations.