It is now 36 days since the Washington Post published an article that reported that Mexico's economy has grown at a world record 17.5 percent annual rate since NAFTA was implemented in 1994. (According to IMF data, annual growth averaged 2.9 percent.) They have refused to print a correction despite repeated calls and e-mails from my colleagues at CEPR. The Post has a very strong policy on correcting errors, which was printed in a recent column by the ombudsman ("Policy vs. Reality in Correcting Errors" 5-7-06; B 6): "The Washington Post is committed to correcting all errors that appear in the newspaper, just as we are committed to the kind of careful journalism that will minimize the number of errors we print. Preventing and correcting mistakes are two sides of the coin of our realm: accuracy. Accuracy is our goal, and candor is our defense." -- The Post Stylebook As I noted before, the Post had taken a strong editorial stand in support on NAFTA. I will allow them to explain this situation themselves.
--Dean Baker