The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is passed, opening up trade between Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. It will also result in many U.S. corporations moving their factories to Mexico in search of lower labor costs.

Meanwhile, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), which would eliminate trade barriers between all countries in the Americas, is proposed but not passed.

Protests against NAFTA are wide-ranging, with workers calling out its focus on profit over labor. In particular, the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico protests the negative impact the trade agreement has on Indigenous communities by expanding private ownership of land in direct contradiction the Zapatistas' focus on collective ownership and cooperation.