Mexican Maquiladoras Poverty

Slaves of poverty: Women in Mexican Maquiladoras

Tegan Tran

Fraga
HIST 339-01
5-11-11
Slaves of poverty: Women in Mexican Maquiladoras
Following the termination of the Bracero program by the US government, a plan known as the Border Industrialization Program was introduced in 1965 by the Mexico government aimed at creating employment opportunities in the northern Mexican border for those seasonal agricultural workers who were previously allowed to work in the United States but now lost their job due to the cancellation of the Bracero program. At the same year, the maquiladora industry was born in Mexico. According to Kathryn Kopinak, author of Desert Capitalism, the meaning of the word maquiladora or maquila for short, has evolved…show more content…
The characteristics of such phenomenon were observed by many as to “feminize the labor force, lower real wages and to introduce a non-union orientation” By July 1994, after 6 months of the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the maquiladora industry in Mexico has become the main source of foreign investment for its government, far surpassed the foreign currency that was brought into the country by tourism and petroleum combined. It was the one that generated all the hype and buzz. As Kopinak puts it, maquiladora industry has become “the engine of industrialization throughout Mexico.” Presently, there are current challenges in the maquiladora industry. The 2001, U.S. recession took a heavy toll on the industry. From October 2000 to June 2002, the industry lost more than 240,000 jobs; plants in border-states accounted for about 76% of these losses. Along with these job losses, Mexican maquilas are being challenged by the rising global competition. The advantages of operating plants in Mexico, such as low wages and tax incentives, are now offered by a great number of developing countries. At the same time, location has become less important as innovations in transportation…show more content…
Ethnography at the Border. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 2003

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[ 3 ]. Kathryn Kopinak, Desert Capitalism .Tucson, The University of Arizona Press, 1996, 102.
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[ 13 ]. Jesus Canas, Maquiladora Industry: Past, Present and Future, El Paso: Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Issue 2, 2002],