Las Maquiladoras

In the mid 80s maquiladoras began to pop up long side the US/Mexico border. "A maquiladora is the Mexican name for manufacturing operation in a free trade zone, where factories import material and equipment on a duty-free basis for assembly, processing, or manufacturing and then export the assembled, processed and/or manufactured products, sometimes back to the raw materials' country of origin."  Many women who were desperate for work moved from central Mexico and Central America to border towns in search of a better life. Working at maquiladoras gave women the independence and freedom that many of them longed for. 

Unfortunately, they were not prepared for the exploitation that awaited them: “slave wages; ten-to-twelve-hour shifts on their feet; working conditions that include dangerous levels of noise pollution, toxic fumes, and sexual harassment by management; manic production schedules and the constant threat of dismissal for not meeting quotas, for being late, for getting pregnant; demeaning beauty pageants disguised as work incentives and moral boosters; pregnancy testing at the time of hiring; enforcing birth control through pill or injection or Norplant implants; and the strict monitoring of their reproductive cycles through monthly menstruation checks” (Gaspar de Alba, Alicia. "Poor Brown Female: The Miller's Compensation for "Free Trade"").

So now I’m torn. Is globalization bad? The bottom line is essentially making money, right? Globalization makes rich people richer.  But why would any person allow another human being to work in such shitty conditions (primarily maquiladora workers)? Ladies, imagine having to show your boss a soiled sanitary napkin to prove that you're still menstruating. It's intrusive and unsettling! Cheap labor = cheap goods but at what cost?

 Below is a short video about maquiladora workers in Tijuana.