As both sides feverishly jockey to gain the few votes needed to pass or reject the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), strange political alliances have been formed. With 258 Republicans lined up in favor, President Clinton needs at most 40% of his fellow Democrats to pass the measure. While the administration has counted on the "side agreements," covering Mexican environmental and labor laws and guarding against import "surges" to win over those undecided on the issue, these safeguards have not convinced labor and prominent Democrats in Congress are leading the opposition while the radical right wing supports the President.
As both sides feverishly jockey to gain the few votes needed to pass or reject the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), strange political alliances have been formed. With about 120 Republicans lined up in favor, President Clinton needs at most 40% of his fellow Democrats to pass the measure. While the administration has counted on the "side agreements," covering Mexican environmental and labor laws and guarding against import "surges" to win over those undecided on the issue, these safeguards have not convinced labor and prominent Democrats in Congress are leading the opposition while the radical right wing supports the President.