Floating Exchange Rates: The Only Viable Solution For some, the collapse of Mexico's economy proves that floating exchange rates and markets without capital controls are deadly. Others find the crash of the European exchange-rate mechanism (ERM) in 1993 to be proof that targeted rates will always be overturned by the free market. Many see the breakup of Bretton Woods as the failure of fixed rates. Yet others believe monetary unification in Europe is the only way to achieve economic and political stability. Many others hold still different beliefs. There are, however, four main proposals for the manage