The Maquiladora Industry

1
The Maquiladora Industry

• Environment, Labor and Health
• by
• Stephanie Ruddy
• San Francisco State University
• Spring 2003
• Urban Studies 515 Final Project
• Race, Poverty and the Environment
• Professor Raquel Rivera Pinderhughes
• Public has permission to use the material herein,
  but only if author(s), course, university and
  professor are credited.

2
Introduction

• This presentation focuses on the Maquiladora
  Industry along the Mexico Border states. It is
  designed to educate people about the
  environmental degradation and labor abuses that
  are viewed as a necessary component for immediate
  profit by the foreign owned assembly plants
  through the creation of NAFTA in 1994. It
  analyzes and describes the Maquiladora Industry,
  paying particular attention to the social,
  environmental and public health impacts of the
  processes associated with the maquilas.

Maquiladora workers taking a stretch in a factory
in Tijuana, Mexico.
http//www.sandyhuffakerjr.com/graphics/humor/exce
rsisers.jpg
3

• Democracy and violence can ill go together.
  Evolution of democracy is not possible if we are
  not prepared to hear the other side.
• It may be long before the law of love will be
  recognized in international affairs. The
  machinerys of government stand between and hide
  the hearts of one people from those of another.
• Quotes from Mohandas K. Gandhi

http//academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/history/core/pic
s/0255/img0055.jpg
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Project Content

• We start by analyzing the historical content that
  made Mexico particularly appealing to foreign
  investors through the creation of NAFTA by
  requiring Mexico to allow free entry and exit of
  investment in all sectors and by lifting trade
  barriers, therefore, making production in Mexico
  for export to the U.S. more profitable. We then
  focus on such environmental impacts of the
  maquildora industries. This is then followed by
  various isolated examples of how the maquiladora
  sector of Mexicos economy is changing the
  social, environmental, political dynamics of the
  Mexican people.

5
What is a Maquiladora?

• Maquiladoras originated as part of the Mexican
  governments 1965 Border Industrialization
  Program.
• Most maquiladoras are foreign-owned, controlled
  or subcontracted manufacturing plants that
  process or assemble imported components for
  export.
• Maquiladora inputs are generally imported
  duty-free, and countries, like the U.S. only tax
  the value-added portion of mapuiladora exports.
• Maquiladoras account for 49 of Mexicos exports
• Source www.dallasfed.org/data/data/maq-charts.pdf

Maquiladora that employs mostly women for its
labor force. The conditions under which they
work are very depressing.
http//www.galizacig.com/actualidade/200211/imaxes
/clothing_maquiladora_in_merida_yucatan_mexico01_5
90.jpg
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• The typical maquiladora worker is a woman between
  the age of 18 and 25 and is usually employed in
  heavy maquiladora centers in the border states of
  Mexico and the United States.
• The low cost of labor is what fuels the heavy
  investment of U.S. based factories into Mexico.
  For example the full cost per hour per employee
  is approximately US 1.64. http//www.nmsu.edu/fr
  ontera/sep00/feat1.html
• The area of Tijuana, Mexico employs roughly
  120,000 workers with over 3,000 maquiladoras.
  Approximately 58 of the jobs in Tijuana are from
  the maquiladora industry.
• Tijuana is also geographically desirable to
  foreign investors as it is conveniently located
  directly on the U.S. Mexico Border allowing for
  cheap shipment of assembled products directly
  into the U.S. (twin plants.)

7
Mexico

• For many years Mexico has been in slow progress
  at democratizing its country. Although, there
  exist many facets that contribute to its failing
  democracy such as the weakness of Mexico as a
  state and the instability of Mexicos economic
  growth that has been extremely maldistributed.
  Mexico has depended upon international investors
  as a main source for its economic development.
  Mexico, through its development, has had an
  increasing interdependence that has brought the
  risk of greater vulnerability to international
  trends and decions. (Lipset 559)

http//www.hiscoinc.com/images/mexlocations.gif
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PEMEX

• Pemex a state within a state
• Originally Pemex had been viewed as a way to
  foment the countrys
• industrialization by producing oil and gas for
  national consumption.
• (Simon 158)
• 1972 Mexico discovers a massive oil deposit in
  Tabasco
• mid-1970s Mexico begins to exploit the oil by
  exporting to the world
• Bankers eagerly begin to loan money to Mexico
• Mexico initiates massive infrastructure
  investment (Simon 158)

http//www.banderasnews.com/galleries/cartoons/ima
ges/pemex-gas.jpg
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Effects of Pemex

• Mexico became increasingly dependent upon oil
  exports and the existence of Pemex for its
  growing economy. Pemex began to exploit the oil
  workers by operating with a limited amount of
  legal restraints. There was not effort to
  control the cost of production, limit waste, or
  invest in industrial safe or environmental
  controls. The environmental damage began to
  build up as Pemex continued to exist.

10
The most common types of petroleum industry
damage in Tabasco are
Stark contrast of Pemex oil refinery within the
realm of natural wildlife.

• Hydrocarbon spillage (oil and oil by-products)
• Degradation of croplands due to hydrocarbon
  buildup
• Spillage of salts and chemical wastes
• Progressive salination of croplands
• High levels of dissolved hydrocarbons in coastal
  waters
• High levels of toxicity in plants eaten by humans
  and wild animals
• Ongoing oil exploration work that includes
  fissures and explosions that damage buildings and
  homes
• Acid rain crop damage resulting from emissions of
  sulfuric acid from petrochemical plants
• Over 200 deaths and cripplings from catastrophic
  explosions. (http//flag.blackened.net/revolt/mex
  ico/reports/gxhrenv.html

http//archive.greenpeace.org/comms/pics/rw06apr01
.jpg
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• The health impact of Pemex has caused many to
  awake with excessive coughing and vomiting. The
  drinking water has been so contaminated that one
  must remove a thick foam in order to actually
  drink the water.

www.bgcworld.org/give_ops/ eductn.jpg
Latin girl showing emotion of poverty, illness
and despair within her community.
12
NAFTA
http//communications.uvic.ca/ring/98jun03/Interna
tionalReport/mexico20pic.JPG

• NAFTA was created in 1994 as a legal agreement
  between the United States, Mexico, and Canada
• It was intended to allow powerful multinational
  corporations to control the political, economic,
  and social elements of a foreign society.
• It eliminates tariffs on goods that cross the
  three border countries

Photo of Mexican worker being observed by
American by-standers. Typical interaction
between those who have money and power and those
who don't. Notice there is no sign of verbal
dialogue. He is observed as non-human.
13
NAFTA Has Encouraged Debt Burden

• Mexicos debt burden has increased significantly
  (nearly 20 billion greater in 1998 than in the
  first year of NAFTA. The Mexican has paid
  between 24 and 44 billion annually since 1993.
• This money could have been used on social
  programs and poverty prevention programs.
• The enormous amount of debt pressures Mexico to
  attract foreign Invenstment
• Source
• CorpWatch http//www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?
  articleid661

14

• The maquiladoras are divided into various
  sections of manufacturing. This table gives a
  current understanding of the percentage of
  Mexicos labor force by branch of industry.

http//students.syr.edu/scool/pie1.gif
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Examples of Maquiladoras in Mexico

• 20th Century Plastics
• Acer Peripherals
• Bali Company, Inc.
• Bayer Corp./Medsep
• BMW
• Canon Business Machines
• Casio Manufacturing
• Chrysler
• Daewoo
• Eastman Kodak/Verbatim
• Eberhard-Faber
• Eli Lilly Corporation
• Ericsson
• Source http//www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?a
  rticleid1528

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• NAFTA has lead to
• Increase in poverty
• 1. The average maquila worker earns 3-5 per
  day
• Wage drop
• 1. Wages continue to drop as the demand of
  workers to unionize increase
• Industry-Related pollution
• 1. Environmental inspections of maquilas has
  dropped since NAFTA
• 2. Hazardous wasted stored of arsenic, slag and
  sludge on grounds
• Natural resource destruction
• 1. Mexico repealed Article 27, which gave
  rights to communal land ownership (ejidos)
• 2. The Maquilas have destroyed the land of
  indigenous people for resource exploitation
• Increase in health problems associated with the
  Maquiladora industry
• 1. Maquiladoras are burdening environment and
  publics health with industrial pollutants
• 2. Increase in hazardous waste sites while
  heavy metals, acids, solvents, and other
  industrial pollutants pour out of industry pipes.
  Source http//www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?ar
  ticleid661

17

• This is an example of a United States owned
  abandoned battery recycling plant. The factory
  has been abandoned since the Mexican government
  shut it down for violating environmental
  guidelines. The owner refuses to clean up the
  toxic waste that has contaminated the water, air
  and health of a community of 1,000 people in
  Colonia Chilpancingo. Children had frequently
  played in this area because it had not been gated
  until recently. I have personally visited this
  site with global exchange.

http//www.globalexchange.org/countries/unitedstat
es/california/dayofthedead/metales.html
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• The amount of toxins used in the maquilas are
  enormous. The majority of workers are not
  provided with the necessary education or
  protection concerning the chemicals they are
  exposed to on a daily basis.

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Solvents of Concern Used in Maquiladoras

• Chemical
• 1. 1,1,1-Trichloroethane
• Affects central nervous system,liver, and
  heart is an irritant and probable human
  carcinogen.
• Environmental Effects Bioconcentrates in
  aquatic organisms
• 2. Acetone
• Acutely toxic flammable
• Environmental Effects Forms ground-level
  ozone
• 3. Dichloromethane
• Affects the central nervous system acutely
  toxic may cause spontaneous abortions
  probable carcinogen
• Environmental Effects Toxic air contaminant
• 4. Xylene
• Affects the central nervous system, liver, and
  kidneys impairs muscle coordination is an
  irritant
• Environmental Effects Forms ground-level
  ozone, pollutes water, persists in soil and can
  leach into groundwater Sourcewww.environmentalhe
  alth.org/BorderToxics..pdf

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Exposure to Hazards as Reported by Tijuana
Maquiladora Workers
Source Establishing Priorities for Occupational
Health Research Among Women Working the
Maquiladora Industry. International Journal of
Occupational and Environmental Health vol. 3, no.
3, July-September
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Children of Toxic Communities
http//www-personal.umich.edu/kenlo/econdev/trash
.gif

• This particularly effects children in the
  community as children are
• In rapid development of nervous and immune
  systems
• Undergoing Behavioral patterns of maturation that
  is effected by environment
• More susceptible to play in areas that are
  heavily contaminated by pollutants
• More susceptible to lead. Children whose diets
  are low in nutrients or suffering from
  malnutrition absorb a larger dose of lead than
  adults
• Sourcewww.environmentalhealth.org/BorderToxics..
  pdf

Image of boy among heap of trash. Very typical
scene of children living in communities without
proper health education. Typical way children
catch deathly diseases and also bring back
harmful elements to the household.
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• Exposure to these chemical and biological
  contaminants can result in development of
  childhood diseases and illnesses.
• Asthma
• Birth Defects
• Diarrhea
• Gastrointestinal Disorders
• Childhood Cancer
• Learning Disorders
• Sourcewww.environmentalhealth.org/BorderToxics..p
  df

Picture of mexican boy, Luis Eduardo Leyva, with
eosinophilic gastroenteritis from mexican border.
The disease has severely stunted his growth.
http//www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/gifs
/breaking/borderhealth.jpg
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• Children may develop a number of health problems
  if they are exposed to contaminated water,
  including infectious intestinal diseases.
  Nitrates in drinking water may cause acute
  toxicity in bottle-fed infants, causing
  methemoglobinemia (blue baby syndrome), and
  studies link arsenic in drinking water to
  miscarriages. Inorganic mercury compounds in
  drinking water, after long-term exposure at
  levels above the maximum contaminant level, can
  cause kidney damage. -Commission for
  Environmental Cooperation, Making the
  Environment Healthier for Our Kids, April 2002

24

• Some colonias that do not have access to
  municipal water supplies must rely on water
  trucks to deliver drinking and bathing water.
  Lack of education concerning such matters leads
  to
• Water being stored in containers that once held
  toxic substances
• Children becoming infected by carrying the water
  to their homes
• Source Seventh Report of the Good Neighbor
  Environmental Board

http//www.water.hut.fi/wr/research/glob/pubicatio
ns/Mexico/mexw1.html
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A Call For Change

• It is a fact
• We must take the necessary steps in helping to
  improve the life of others by changing the way we
  live and think.

http//www.adventurespecialists.org/villagegirl1s.
jpg
Picture of latin village girls. Their faces
reveal the life and hope of every child living in
poverty.
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Recommendations For Improving Health

• Institutionalize environmental health issues
  within school curriculum
• Support extracurricular environmental education
  programs within border-region school systems
• Provide support within school setting that
  enables school children to carry environmental
  education and environmental health messages home
  to families
• Develop and distribute more environmental health
  education materials that have an appealing design
  and are clearly written in both English and
  Spanish
• Research Collaborate across border-region
  academic institutions, health organizations, and
  environmental agencies. Produce more research,
  data gathering and data analysis of border-region
  childrens environmental health issues as the
  foundation for informed strategic actions.
• Source Seventh Report of the Good Neighbor
  Environmental Board

27

• I encourage anyone who has viewed this
  presentation will be able to understand the
  basics of the U.S. relationship with Mexico. I
  also hope that the plight of the Mexican people
  has made at least one more person aware of the
  dangers a woman, child and man face every day in
  their homeland. But most of all, I hope that you
  would have been encouraged not to take clean
  water, labor laws, clean food, and environmental
  laws for granted. It is truly a luxury to live
  as Americans do.

http//www.iir.berkeley.edu/exhibit/bacon/images/z
_03_016.jpg
Mexican boys day after border rebellion. Example
of makeshift shelters in the background. Typical
living conditions of maquiladora worker.
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References Suggested Reading

• Diamons, Larry, Jonathan Hartlyn, Juan J. Linz,
  and Seymour Martin Lipset. Democracy in
  Developing Countries Latin America. London
  Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999.
• Simon, Joel. Endangered Mexico An Environment
  on the Edge. San Francisco Sieera Club Books,
  1997.
• Suchlicki, Jaime. Mexico From Montezume To
  NAFTA, Chiapas, and Beyond. Washington - London
  Brasseys, Inc., 1996.
• Ruiz, Ramon Eduardo. On The Rim of Mexico
  Encounters of the Rich and Poor. Boulder,
  Colorado Westview Press, 1998.
• Rios, Joe Marie and Avelardo Valdez, PhD. La
  Relacion Entre Infraestructura, Servicios y la
  Incidencia de Enfermedades en las Colonias
  Fronterizas. Revista de Fronteriza. Vol. 2,
  2000. Pgs. 31-41
• Quintana, Penelope J.E., Ann de Peyster, Raymon
  K. Hucke, Fernando M. Sanudo. Carga
  Materno-Fetal de Plorno, Condiciones Fetales y
  Riesgos Asocidos a Plorno Informados
  Investigacion en el Hospital General de Tijuana.
  Revista de Fronteriza. Vol 2. 2000 pg. 15-22
• Environmental Health Coalition Border Toxics
  Fact Sheet. http//www.environmentalhealth.org/pu
  bs-factsheets.html
• Williams, Edward J. Ph.D. The Maquiladora
  Industry and Environmental Degradation In The
  United States-Mexican Borderlands.
  http//www.natlaw.com/pubs/williams.html