International trade agreements are changing the legal systems in the Americas, especially in Latin America. The shift is due to factors like population growth, industrialization, and globalization. These agreements are causing tension between old legal practices and new social expectations. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a good example of this. In the 1980s, Latin American countries moved away from closed, self-sufficient economies to more open, competitive ones. This led to changes in government policies and the role of the state.