Mexican Products

Marjorie Miller and Juanita Darling in their article on Mexico’s shift to free trade (World Report, Oct. 22) state that Mexico’s best products were “mediocre” up until recently when they began to face competition from foreign-made goods. This is free market dogma, but untrue.

While living in Mexico City from 1985 to 1987 I used a Mexican blender, juice extractor, pressure cooker, coffee maker, vacuum cleaner, washing machine and gas stove, all of excellent quality. I wore comfortable, stylish Mexican shirts and pants. Our Mexican refrigerator/freezer was 23 years old and worked perfectly. My brother-in-law’s Mexican stereo was 16 years old and still sounded good. Granted, all Mexican products were not top quality, but most were as good or better than their foreign-made counterparts.

CLIFFORD OLIN, Alhambra