Corp Watch has a great article that looks at the effects of NAFTA in the border towns of Mexico. The results of this agreement have definitely been mixed, at best.
“In the town of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, close to the U.S. border, two streets intersect: one is called Progreso (Progress) and the other is Fabrica (Factory). They are aptly named streets because they are thoroughfares that only house manufacturing plants called maquiladoras - giant mall sized buildings ringed with fences and with guardhouses posted out front. There are no houses or shops here – indeed, the sidewalks on Progreso and Fabrica are empty, and the only noise that can be heard during a workday are the trucks that drop off supplies and pick up finished goods.”
It goes on...
“Some of the factories belong to well-known companies like Caterpillar or Sony, others to less well-known companies like Delphi. Early every morning at the beginning of the workday, special buses arrive from specific neighborhoods carrying workers, while others arrive in their own vehicles. They are smartly dressed young women and men whose jobs range from assembling videotapes to refurbishing defective machines. The factories are huge, employ thousands of workers and do brisk business. It is hard to imagine that they could ever pack up and leave, but it is a distinct possibility in the chaotic world of border economics.”
Read the whole thing. It presents compelling stories from those most affected by this agreement. It has been 13 years since NAFTA was signed and it appears that the promises of jobs and increased prosperity were not fully fulfilled. If NAFTA had truly lived up to the hype, millions of workers from Mexico would have no need to be risking their lives streaming across the border every single day.
Las Maquilas- a short film about maquilas in Mexico.
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