Maquiladoras

In the last fifty years, two linked phenomena have become more evident. On the one hand, there is an unprecedented massive migration from the global South to the global North in search of jobs and better salaries in the strong economies; on the other hand, there is the north-south movement of multinational companies (offshoring) in search of cheap and abundant labor markets in the weaker economies. The establishment of maquiladoras in countries like Mexico results from the fragmentation and transfer of production processes looking to cheapen production costs. This transfer affects workers in the countries of origin of capital because they lose employment sources and their labor is indirectly cheapened. It also affects workers in the destination countries because when jobs are created, migration needs are reduced.