Book excerpt: * Illustrates how Mexican communities cope with NAFTA’s effects * Written by a team of US and Mexican collaborators * Shows importance of trade regulations on poor communities worldwide How is the current model for economic globalization affecting both the poor and the environment? Confronting Globalization extends a sweeping treatment of contemporary Mexican politics as they investigate the country’s tumultuous experience under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The contributors relate globalization’s untold stories: its social and environmental costs, and the grassroots quest for alternative paths. They reveal to us how vulnerable people in rural communities are choosing to defend themselves and promote their own homegrown alternatives in the face of adversity.