Maquiladoras
by
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. The maquiladora or maquila is a type of industrialization model that generates foreign exchange, is cheap labor-intensive, and exports. Export Processing Zones (EPZ) were conceived as a new international division of labor in the late 1970s. Measured by its expansion, this industrial model has been a success, since in 1975 it included the participation of 25 countries, 79 zones, and 750,000 workers (Fröbel, Heinrichs, and Kreye 1981). By the early 2000s, there were...
This essay may be found on page 125 of the printed volume.