I won't debate whether CAFTA might generate economic growth for capitalists eager to come into the region. Let's assume that it would. And that it would likely increase the demand for labor. But would it produce a "strong" demand for labor? Most certainly not.

It is only under the condition of "strong" demand for labor—i.e., where the economy is approaching full employment—that the workers' position is strengthened. Long before that would be allowed to happen, the capitalists would move out of the region.

If you're unsure of this, think for a moment about the plight of the workers in the United States, whose capitalists have continued to be the sole beneficiaries of strong economic growth throughout the term of the Bush administration as the power of labor has steadily ebbed.