Pan American Federation of Labor Pafl

a trade union association that included the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and a number of Latin-American trade unions. The PAFL was created in 1918 at a conference in Laredo, Texas, which was attended by delegates of unions from the USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Colombia. It was headed by reformist leaders of the AFL, who attempted to subordinate the workers’ movement to the interests of the imperialist monopolies. The PAFL fell apart in early 1930 in connection with the growth of the workers’ and anti-imperialist movement in Latin America.