NAFTA should be boon for Hispanic Americans.

There's little doubt that the North American Free Trade Agreement will be a boon to Mexico, but are Hispanics buying it? Despite all the talk from their putative leadership about Hispanics' affinity for their native culture, it doesn't seem to be materializing into support for NAFTA. Passed by Congress, the accord will eliminate virtually all trade barriers between the United States, Canada, and Mexico over the next 15 years and create a free trade zone spanning the continent from the Yukon to the Yucatan.

Hispanics currently control 17 votes in the House (three non-voting members represent Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands). But eight of them declared their opposition to the pact. Only four Hispanic members of Congress publicly favored the treaty.

Hispanics, along with most other Americans, profit from NAFTA's passage. Initial job losses will soon be offset by long-term gains. Total U.S. exports to Mexico reached $41 billion last year - up from just $14.6 billion in 1987. With trade barriers lifted, the U.S. export industry should continue to mushroom and states like California and Texas, which maintain strong business links to Mexico, will surely profit. A booming Mexican economy will prompt new demands for American products, which in turn will create and sustain hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs.

Hispanics in particular would benefit, since many have a competitive advantage over other American workers. As U.S. businesses extend into Mexico, they will rely heavily on certain kinds of human capital, such as bilingual skills a knowledge of Mexican customs, and the ability to develop contacts in the Mexican economy. To be sure, not every Hispanic American speaks Spanish, understands Mexican culture, and plugs into an extensive south-of-the-border business network. But many Hispanics, especially the 14 million who are of Mexican origin - will find lucrative employment opportunities that did exist before NAFTA. What's more, future trade agreements will likely come from Central and South America, where Hispanic Americans would again have an economic edge.

Both the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the League of United Latin American Citizens endorsed NAFTA, as did many smaller state and local Hispanic organizations. Hispanic pols, however, were much more divided. The Hispanic Congressional Caucus declined to take an official position on NAFTA, but its chairman, Rep. Jose E. Serrano (D-NY), voted against the measure. Some of the "no" votes were fairly understandable - Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) comes from a unionized district in Chicago and Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) represents many low-income Puerto Ricans. But NAFTA wasn't a party line vote among Hispanics.

Polls suggest that most Americans, including Hispanics, have soured on immigration, especially illegal immigration. Although NAFTA might initially boost unlawful border crossing because of displaced Mexican farm workers, it will also improve Mexico's economy. The vast majority of illegal immigrants come to the U.S. for economic reasons, so a rapidly growing Mexican economy would extinguish many desires to head for "el norte."