Maquiladora
Maquiladoras date back to 1964, when the Mexican government introduced the Programa de Industrialización Fronteriza ('Border Industrialization Program').
[3][4] The Border Industrialization Program (BIP) began in 1965 and allowed for a lowering in restrictions and duties on machinery, equipment and raw materials.
With BIP, foreign firms were able to use factories built under PRONAF to import raw materials and export goods for a cheaper cost than in other countries.
[7] In 1989, the federal government put in place specific procedures and requirements for maquilas under the "Decree for Development and Operation of the Maquiladora Industry".
[citation needed] A 2011 Federal Reserve report indicated that the maquiladora industry affects U.S. border city employment in service sectors.
[13] In the 2000s, the maquila industry faced competition due to rise of other countries with availability of cheap labor, including Malaysia, India, and Pakistan.
[13] During the later half of the 1960s, maquiladora industries rapidly expanded geographically and economically and by 1985, had become Mexico's second largest source of income from exports, behind oil.
[17] Since globalization and physical restructuring[citation needed] have contributed to the competition and advent of low-cost offshore assembly in places such as China, and countries in Central America, maquiladoras in Mexico have been on the decline since 2000.
According to federal sources, approximately 529 maquiladoras shut down and investment in assembly plants decreased by 8.2 percent in 2002 after the imposition of countervailing duties on Chinese products, not available in North America, that were part of the electronics supply chain.
[16] Despite the decline, over 3,000 maquiladoras still exist along the 2,000 mile-long United States–Mexico border, providing employment for approximately one million workers, and importing more than $51 billion in supplies into Mexico.
[18] Research indicates that maquiladoras' post-NAFTA growth is connected to changes in Mexican wages relative to those in Asia and in the United States, and to fluctuations in U.S. industrial production.
Given that several women are brutally murdered in Mexico, with Juárez as one of the main city targets, it is essential to look into the orientations of male authority, cheap labor exploitation, and the maquiladoras export processing zone.
The 2015 minimum wage was 70.1 pesos per day in Tijuana (minimum wages vary by zone and worker classification) or about $0.55 per hour at the 2016 exchange rate of 16 pesos per dollar,[24] while most entry-level positions in maquilas paid closer to $2 per hour including bonuses and 25% being paid to Social Security, housing, and retirement.
[21][26] The Humans Rights Watch wrote a report in 1996 about the failures of the government to address this issue despite the fact that pregnancy testing violates Mexican federal labor law.
These women are typically young ladies who are small, dark skinned, with long hair and work largely in the maquiladora labor force...
As if that weren't clear, the bodies of women from the Mexican border continue to be consumed by misogyny that has reached the most dreadful level of brutality.
Intense work pace and pressure on high production leads to injuries including upper back, neck, and shoulder pain.
Rita Segato investigates the historical changes associated with war and the essential role that inhumanity obtains in it toward people who do not participate in the conflict, such as women and children.
The Center for Labor Studies (CETLAC) was opened in the mid-1990s and worked to educate workers about their rights and activism decreased in light of violence against women.
[25] Rita Segato argues using a de-colonial feminist viewpoint that contends that patriarchal political structures existed in communal societies prior to colonialism.
In this article, Segato focuses on the patriarchal institutions of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and Brazil's National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) to extensively analyze and characterize these preexisting structures.
According to Segato, the racialization of individuals living south of the border underlies and reinforces prosecution of "illegal aliens", ultimately endangering Mexican women and children.
The presence of toxic waste in towns near maquila factories has led to negative health outcomes for the people living there.
This led to several public health campaigns from U.S. and Mexican advocacy groups for better hygiene practices to help protect workers and their families from hazardous exposures.
[43] Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, workers suffered from toluene exposure due to its common use in several manufacturing processes, causing symptoms of dizziness, nausea, and other neurological issues.
This issue drew public attention and highlighted the risks of inadequate ventilation within maquiladoras and the need for personal protective equipment.
[45] Although maquiladoras provided jobs for local communities, it soon became apparent that health standards in many factories were not properly regulated, garnering publicity from U.S. and Mexican advocacy groups.
