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Maclovio Rojas |
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Queridos companeros, Corre el rumor que Fox acaba de pasar sentencia final en el caso de Maclovio Rojas donde ratifica que los legitimos duenos de las tierras que esta comunidad ocupa desde hace mas de 13 anos son OTROS mas ricos y poderosos. La magia de las Leyes convierte a los ciudadanos del Maclovio en delincuentes. Se empieza a confirmar pues que el futuro no va mas halla de un nuevo par de riendas, botas y estilo de montar. Las 167 heactareas de tierra en las cuales el Poblado se asientan van a ser testigas de este Cambio fundamental de explotacion. Uno se pregunta cual sera el futuro de los hogares, escuelas, canchas deportivas, granjas, tiendas y otros negocios que ya no son de carton y que hoy definen al Poblado. Maclovio Rojas tiene los cimientos hondos y no va a desaparecer tan facilmente. Existe un foro cultural bautizado con el nombre de Aguascalientes, una Casa de la Mujer, una clinica, centenares de recien nacidos y tambien muertos que le dan vida. El popular Sobreruedas de los Miercoles y Sabados que gunta a cientos de pequenos comerciantes y familias, los cuales llegan desde todo Tijuana para suplementar la miseria de los salarios de las maquilas mediante la venta de todo aquello que encuentre comprador no prodra olvidar el nombre. Entre raspados y mangos, la pizza y tacos, el mercado llena de vida al Poblado y sus calles de tierra. Son calles amplias, trazadas en un Plano General que indica la posicion exacta de cada lote. Este plano se encuentra dentro del Centro Comunitario y tal vez podra ser borrado y hasta otro Cambio de nombre pueda suceder pero no sera suficiente. Sonado, construido, y regido por la comunidad sin alluda alguna que la propia, Maclovio encontro su futuro marcado por un Govierno Estatal Panista que desde un principio se nego a reconocerlos creando toda clase de impedimentos a su desarrollo--tal vez por el ejemplo que un buen govierno puede ofrecer dentro del caos que justifica su mal govierno. Fue asi como los Maclovianos tuvieron que verselas para crear su propia red electrica que avastece al poblado y que semeja el tejer de una caprichosa arana gigante. Tambien la red de agua que moja al Poblado fue creada por la necesidad y el ingenio, pues pasa por el centro del Poblado un enorme tubo de acero, aqueducto que avastede Tijuana y las maquilas. Seria una pendejada enorme que este pretendiese ignorar las necesidades basicas de esta poblacion y negarse a dejar una gota de misericordia en el poblado. Pero la clandestinidad existe tan solo por que estos servicios se les han negado una y otra vez. Durante los ultimos dos anos, el yo del otro lado, ha estado tratando de comprender las razones de esta situacion en la cual una comunidad de casi 2,000 familias, 10,000 personas, vive. Pero Maclovio es tan solo un ejemplo de lo que pasa en toda la region fronteriza que va desde Matamoros a Tijuana y luego se duplica en el resto del mundo. El cerco que existe alrededor del Maclovio Rojas forma parte de una Guerra Sorda que por no usar bombas caras no recibe publicidad. Dentro del marco jurido, el Poblado lleva pelea con abogados para defender los derechos de unas tierras las cuales ellos habian pagado al Govierno Federal, por medio de la Reforma Agraria, $37,500,000 pesos. Este pago se hizo en 1994 y una copia gigantesca del recivo existe, como comprovante para todo aquel que guste verlo, en las oficinas del Banco Comunitario del Poblado. Los propietarios que hoy disputen la vericidad de sus derechos y que reclaman el retorno de sus tierras, que en algun momento llegaron a ser mas de cinco, llevan las de ganar pues la batalla legal se gana con el trafico de influencias y pocas son las influencias de los pobres. El Poblado fue bautizado con el nombre de Maclovio Rojas Marquez como simbolo de lucha y honor a un indio Oxaqueno organizador de los trabajadores de San Quintin que fue asesinado. Oxaquena tambien son las raices y el carisma del principal lider del poblado, Hortensia Hernandez. Ella a definido a este movimiento que desde un principio a sido promovido por las mujeres. Junto con Artemio Osuna, ellos han creado la unica comunidad en la zona de Tijuana que presenta frente de batalla, no tan solo a los problemas de la tierra, pero a las maquilas y a un sin fin de problemas sociales que azotan a las familias de la region. La represion que han sufrido por su trabajo a sido enorme pues en los trece anos de lucha han sido numerosas los meses de prision y demandas judiciales. No tan solo ellos han sufrido, otros miembros de la directiva de la Union de Posesionarios del Poblado Maclovio Rojas Marquez de Tijuana, nombre legal de la asociacion civil la cual con sus estatutos legales rije en forma democratica el Poblado, han sufrido. Huelgas de hambre y dos marchas A PIE desde el Poblado a Mexicali para demandar la liberacion de sus lideras dan testimonio del character de este movimiento. Las 167 hectareas se encuentra en la carretera libre de Tijuana a Tecate justo al lado de una de las maquilas mas grandes de Norte America. No es casualidad que la avaricia lleve a esta gente por la calle de la amargura. La ciudad de Tijuana crecio en forma precipitada y esta zona paso de "tierras agrarias pobres," a "lotes de urbanizacion cotizada." El valor especulativo que generan su situacion geografica tan privelijiada se empieza a dar a conozer con el nuevo desarrollo urbanistico e industrial del Boulevard 2000. Es asi como el movimiento Globalizador encuentra en las 167 hectareas de Maclovio un enorme bache.No seria la primera vez que los soldados se presenten en el Poblado para comenzar el desalojo. La ultima vez, la gente les hizo frente y se retiraron. No estamos seguros de lo que pueda ocurrir esta vez. Tratare de seguir manteniendoles al tanto. Que viva Maclovio Rojas!
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Dear colleagues; Rumor has it Pres.Fox passed final sentence
on Maclovio Rojas, ratifying the legitimate owners of this community occupied for 13 years are
instead OTHER rich & powerful albeit absent people. Legal magic is turning the citizens of
Maclovio into delinquents, confirming the Fox future to be no more than a new pair of reins, boots
& riding mount. The 167 hectars of earth in which the Town is based testify to this
fundamental "change" of operation. What will be the future of the homes, sport schools, fields,
farms, stores and other businesses that are no longer cardboard and which today define the Town.
Maclovio Rojas has deep foundations and it is not going to disappear so easily. The
Aguascalientes cultural center, women's center & a clinic already exist; the hundreds born
& mourned there also give the pueblo life. Popular Wednesday & Sunday street markets
earning for hundreds of small vendors & families from all over Tijuana supplement miserable
maquiladora wages. Between snowcones & mangos, pizza & tacos, the market is full of
life from the Town and its earth streets, ample streets drawn up in a General Plan that indicates
the exact position of each lot to be found in the Community Center. Perhaps it will be erased until
the name change can happen but that's not likely.
Proposed, constructed & governed by the community without help from Fox's designated
owner, Maclovio finds its future marked by PAN state govt from principles that fail to recognize
their own creation of all types of impediments to development, perhaps an example that good govt
can arise within the chaos created by bad govt. Likewise, Maclovianos had to create their own
electrical network & infrastrutcture that advanced the town and which resembles a capricious
giant spiderweb. Also the water system that descends to the Town was created by residents' own
necessity & talent from an enormous steel tube aqueduct supplying Tijuana & NAFTA
factories. It's been an enormous screwup ignoring the basic needs of this population and refusing
a drop of mercy to the town. But clandestine development exists despite repeated denied of these
services.
During the last 2 years, I've gone there trying to understand the reasons for this situation in which
a community of almost 2.000 families & 10.000 people live. Maclovio so exemplifies what's
happening all along the border region from Matamoros to Tijuana; it is rapidly being duplicated in
the rest of the world. The wall around Maclovio Rojas is a Deaf War that doesn't use expensive
bombs and has no publicity. In the courts, the Town fights with lawyers to defend land rights
already purchased with 37.5million pesos from the Federal govt in 1994 under the Agrarian
Reformation. A gigantic copy of the reciept exists as proof for all that care to see it in the Town's
Communitarian Bank offices. Would be owners disputing the validity of these rights &
demanding return of the land have risen to more than 5 and will likely win the legal battle because
the influence of the poor is little. The 167 hectars are on the free highway of Tijuana to Tecate next to one of the biggest factories in N.America. It is greed, not chance, bitterly forcing people from their streets. The city of Tijuana hastily made this zone's transfer of "poor agrarian lands" to " lots of quoted urbanization". The speculative value generated from privilieged geographic situation begins to recognize the new urban & industrial development of Boulevard 2000. Globalization finds in the 167 hectars of Maclovio an enormous pocket. It won't be the first time that soldiers appear in the Town to begin the evacuation. Last time, people confronted them and they retreated. It's uncertain this time what will happen. They continue trying to keep their homes. So endures Maclovio Rojas! |
Tijuana ~ An attempt by police to evict squatters from a section of land between central
Tijuana and Tecate nearly broke out in violence yesterday's residents confronted armed police
with rocks and sticks. In an attempt to avoid bloodshed, police eventually withdrew without
carrying out the court-ordered eviction, but angry families then blockaded Highway 2 between
Tijuana and Tecate for more than an hour. No one was injured, but the 4 hour confrontation was
described by authorities as "very tense."
The patch of land, known as Maclovio Rojas, was part of communal farming land known an
Mexico as an ejido. It is about nine miles east of Tijuana. The total area is home to approximately
2,000 families, roughly 8,000 to 10,000 people. Title to the land is the subject of a three-way
dispute among a local Baja California land-holding family, the Yorbas; two groups of communal
residents; and Rosa Maria Correa Parra, who also has a claim on the land. Correa had obtained
an eviction order from 4th State District Judge Blanca Esthela Favela in Tijuana for the removal of
approximately 100 squatter families in a section of Maclovio Rojas.
About 11 a.m. yesterday, squads of Tijuana municipal police and Baja California State Judicial Police began arriving with orders to evict the first 15 families. Instead of leaving, however, some of the residents angrily confronted the officers, said Jose Lauro Ortiz Aguilera, spokesman for the state Atty General's Office in Tijuana. "Things were very tense," Ortiz said. "There were children and women armed with sticks and rocks. For that reason, the judge ordered the police to withdraw from the area, so that the situation would not escalate and result in injuries." Police withdrew, but protesters then blockaded Highway 2. Federal highway police routed traffic onto a nearby toll road while authorities negotiated with the demonstrators to seek a peaceful end to the protest. For a while, the situation was very similar to a confrontation in the 3 de Octubre area in 1993 in which several people were injured in a violent clash between police and squatters. Police were accused of using excessive force during that incident, which led to the resignations of several state government officials, including the attorney general at the time.
This is hardly the kind of tough talk that Hyundai Group wants to hear. The
South Korean
conglomerate's San Diego based unit, Hyundai Precision America, has plans to
expand its Tijuan
truck parts factory onto the Maclovio Rojas hillside. Meanwhile, the Port of San
Diego is also
hoping to reopen a key railroad link that runs right next to Maclovio Rojas.
Yet neither of these projects will be possible if Ms. Mendoza has her way. She
argues that the 433
acres in question belong to the 130 families currently living there. And she
openly challenges the
Mexican government by refusing to lead the squatters off the land. Along the
way, the self
described peasant has taken the figh across the border. She has cultivated the
backing of a host
of unions and community activists in California and her actions may affect
Hyundai's commitment
to its San Diego operation.
"We are no longer alone", says Artemio Osuna Osuna, one of 13 Maclovio Rojas
residents elected
to a leadership committee headed by Ms. Mendoza. "I am surprised by all the help
we have gotten
from California. I didn't know we had friends in the mouth of the monster."
In the eyes of Mexican officials and Hyundai executives, Ms. Mendoza's threats
are not to be
taken lightly. Known among many here as "Subcomandante Hortensia", she is
in charge of
one of only five official centers of resistance, the aguascalientes, of
the Zapatista
movement. It was three years ago when Indian farmers in Mexico's southern state
of Chiapas first
took the name of Mexico's revolutionary hero, Emiliano Zapata, and declared war
on the
government. Sporadic fighting still continues in Chiapas.
Despite her ties to the National Liberation Zapatista Army and its political arm
in Tijuana, Ms.
Mendoza insists that she and her followers in Maclovio Rojas are nonviolent,
guided by the pacifist
philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. Nonetheless, it's clear that the Mexican
government is worried
about the potential for an armed clash. Many of those in Maclovio Rojas "come
from the same
region in Chiapas where the rebel uprising began", notes a Mexican official, who
would speak only
on the condition of anonymity. "They are against any government
interference."
Apparently, with these concerns in mind, the Mexican government has staged
military led raids in
Maclovio Rojas in search of weapons, according to Ms. Mendoza and others living
here. In one
case, she says, Mexican officials went so far as to suggest that Mamoru Konno,
the president of
Sanyo Components USA who was kidnapped in Tijuana last year, was being held in
Maclovio
Rojas. Ms. Mendoza laughs at such assertions and blasts the government for
engaging in a
campaign of harrassment and misinformation.
"They say they want to negotiate, work out a deal, but there are many wolves
dressed in sheep's
clothing." she says.
How the standoff will ultimately play out is far from certain, and timing may be
critical. According to
the leadership committee's interpretation of the Mexican constitution, land
occupied by squatters
can be claimed after ten years. And for the families of Maclovio Rojas, that
period ends this
summer. Although Mexican officials counter that the land of Maclovio Rojas
belongs to the
government, regardless of how the community reads the law, the community is sure
to dig in
deeper once the ten year mark is reached.
For their part, Hyundai officials say they will wait to see how effective the
government is at clearing
the land before deciding what to do about adding onto their facility, which
assembles cargo
containers and tractor trailer chassis.
"We want to expand our factory if" there is a "reasonable timeline and cost",
says Ted Chung,
president of Hyundai Precision America, whose current storage facility abuts
Maclovio Rojas along
a chain link fence. It is guarded on the company side by men with batons. "But
we always see
other opportunities", Mr. Chung adds. "If the local people or local government
can't let us do that,
we can very easily change our plans and avoid the hardships. We could leave San
Diego and
Tijuana."
That would be a blow to the local economy. Hyundai Precision America employs 50
people in San
Diego. And it also oversees housing and other support services for another group
of managers
who work in Tijuana but live in San Diego. ( The company won't say how many
people work in the
Tijuana plant. )
"We have made a substantial contribution to San Diego and have invested more
than $30 million "
on the U.S. side of the border, Mr. Chung says
MaryAnne Pintar, press secretary for San Diego mayor Susan Golding, says city
officials became
aware of the situation just last week. "Anything that can be done here in San
Diego to ... keep the
Hyundai offices open will be addressed by the mayor." she says. However, it
isn't just Hyundai that
boasts strong ties to the San Diego area.
The people of Maclovio Rojas have been able to win a slew of support from
California union
officials, who argue that factories such as Hyundai's are exploiting desparate
Mexican workers. In
fact, more than 80 per cent of the people of Maclovio Rojas, who typically live
in hovels made of
pallets, mud splattered wood, and strips of cardboard, work at Hyundai or other
maquiladoras for about $30 to $50 per week.
"We're not going to seit back and let them do that to workers, many of whom are
relatives of ours."
says Jerry Butkiewiecz, secretary treasurer of the San Diego / Imperial Counties
Labor Council, an
umbrella group of 9 local unions around Southern California. "We aren't worth
our salt if we don't
stand up and have workers on this side of the border support the workers on the
other side."
Of course, it isn't necessarily just concern for their brethern in Mexico that
has prompted union
officials to aid the workers of Maclovio Rojas. Industrial development on the
Mexican side of the
border, some union officials believe, will inevitably lead to a loss of jobs in
the U.S.
Whatever their motivation, though, California union locals are opening their
wallets. In the past
year, members of the American Federation of Teachers Local 2034 in San Diego,
for example,
have donated hundreds of dollars in cash to Maclovio Rojas. The Long Beach
branch of the Oil,
Chemical and Atomic Workers has donated $4000 to the community, and individual
union
members have chipped in another $1500 or so. Other unions have also given cash
donations.
Beyond support from organized labor, other Californians have also gotten
involved in Maclovio
Rojas. A nonprofit group called San Diegans for Dignity, Democracy and Peace in
Mexico says it
may help build educational facilities here. And an internationally acclaimed art
group based in San
Diego, the Border Art Workshop, has been shootng a documentary film on the
events at Maclovio
Rojas for more than a year.
Besides the Hyundai fight, the squatters in Maclovio Rojas are also having an
effect on the
redevelopment of the old San Diego and Arizona Eastern Railway, which runs along
the northen
edge of the community. The railway opened in 1919 and, for decades, ran through
San Diego to
Tijuana and nearby Tecate before looping back into Imperial County in
southeastern California. It
is there that the line hooked up with the Southern Pacific railroad, connecting
it to the rest of the
U.S. and the Mexican interior.
But, in 1983, a portion of the railway was closed after it was damaged by fires
and heavy storms.
As a result, the Port of San Diego hav been without a direct rail link with the
rest of the U.S. And
proponents of redeveloping the line, at an estimated cost of more than $100
million, believe it
would greatly increase the port's attractiveness as a site for international
trade.
"It would help our bulk commodities business and our motor business." says Dan
Wilkens, the
senior director for community and governmental affairs at the port. He adds that
the Mexican
government wouldn't have to put any money into the project because all the
funding would be
raised from private sources and public entities on the U.S. side. But any effort
to reopen the rail
line will have to get past tough opponents. One is U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, a
Republican from El
Cajon, who contends that the rail will bring more trouble than it's worth. "The
rail line will further
assist the importation of drugs into Southern California and will be a target
for Mexican gangs." the
congressman says. "Millions of dollars a year in goods are stolen from trains
that run along the
border."
In the end, though, the fiercest foes of the rail project may well be Ms.
Mendoza and the people of
Maclovio Rojas.
"They want the land around those tracks." says Mr. Osuna, the community leader,
as he points
through the darkness toward the rail line. "If the government takes the decision
to throw us off the
land, the community is prepared for physical resistance with rocks and
sticks."
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"California connections" supporters
University Council / American Fed. of Teachers Local 2034
Communcations Workers of America Local 9509
Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Intl
Western region, Long Beach
Service Employees Intl Union local 2028 Global Exchage, San Francisco |
" Hillside holdouts " : Maclovio Rojas leaders' 5 basic demands
Wage increases for maquiladora workers
Improved health & safety conditions at factories
Freedom to organize an independent representative union
Title to the land which they currently call home End blacklisting of Maclovio Rojas residents |
Se tiene la firme intención de resolver este problema para asegurar la tranquilidad de las familias que ahí habitan,
y para ello, se necesita de la voluntad de todos y si la hay, entonces se tendrán los medios para lograrlo.
Luego de reafirmar su voluntad de diálogo como el medio más adecuado para solucionar cualquier conflicto, el
Jefe del Ejecutivo Estatal reiteró que todo tipo de problemas, en la medida en que son comprendidos, analizados y
discutidos en base al respeto mutuo, tienen una solución y una conclusión civilizada.
Respecto al planteamiento en el sentido de que sean liberados sus compañeros Arternio Osuna, Hortencia
Hernández y Juan Regalado, presos por los delitos de despojo y daños en propiedad ajena, en su calidad de
instigadores, el Lic. Terán Terán fue claro en señalar los límites de su competencia dentro del Poder Ejecutivo y
aunque recalcó que eso corresponde a la esfera del Poder Judicial, estableció que la conducción política de los
tres poderes del Estado como partes integrantes del Gobierno del Estado, siempre se conducirán de acuerdo a la
Ley y en este caso, si la defensa de los detenidos aporta los elementos de instigadores, el Poder
Judicial seguramente actuará en consecuencia y en apego a la Ley.
Finalmente, los integrantes de la comisión representativa de la CIOAC Democrática manifestaron su satisfacción
por el diálogo sostenido con el Ejecutivo Estatal y por los compromisos ahí adquiridos con el Lic. Terán Terán, los
que aseguraron, harán posible una solución definitiva a este problema que data desde la administración del Lic.
Xicotencatl Leyva Mortera.
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OC Green support Zopilote recount: Comunitario Aguascalientes the struggle: press account & first hand account Quaker participation: youth volunteer account N.Calif. Coalition for Immigrant Rights 1997 synopsis Mex.Pres. Fox's musarañas |
Mexico's Fox pledges flexibility in talks on China's WTO bid 6.7.01 L.A.Times pA4
BEIJING The president of Mexico, which has yet to formally endorse China's bid to join the WTO,
said Wednesday that his country does not object to Beijing joining the trade body and will be flexible in talks on the
issue. President Vicente Fox made his comments during a whirlwind trip to Asia that has been dominated by trade
& economic discussions. A day earlier, Fox & Japanese PM Junichiro Koizumi agreed to consider a free-
trade pact between their nations. On Wednesday, Fox met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin to discuss ways to
strengthen trade, economic, scientific and cultural cooperation, one of Fox's aides said. The official New China
News Agency said Fox told Jiang that Mexico "will take a more flexible stance" in upcoming talks about Beijing's
WTO bid so that a deal can be reached "as soon as possible." Fox's aide confirmed the report, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
Trade between the nations has increased in recent years: Japanese exports to Mexico, mostly machinery &
auto parts, grew 12% to $4.7 billion in 2000 over the previous year, while Mexico's oil & agricultural
exports to Japan jumped 37% to $2.1 billion in the same period. Japanese companies have invested $7 billion
in Mexico, including about $1.2 billion in the fiscal year ended in March. |
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In Mexico, Net Not a Priority ¹
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1.16.01 Julia Scheeres Wired News
Is 'Chiapas Peace' Concert a Cynical Ploy ? From the beginning of the Zapatista uprising on 1.1.94, Mexico's 2 television networks have been united in efforts to discredit, distort, invent falsehoods, and ignore the basic demands of the Zapatista movement in Chiapas and the indigenous cause throughout Mexico. So many eyebrows were raised when, last week, TV Azteca owner Ricardo Salinas Pliego called a surprise press conference to announce the 3.3.01 "Chiapas Peace" concert, complete with Woodstock-style logo, and more than coincidently scheduled at the same time as 10,000 members and supporters of the Indigenous National Congress meet with the 24 Zapatista delegates in Michoacán. | |
Issue tracked by American Friends Service Committee (Quakers). Ideological opposition is U.S. nativists & border area land rights advocates. Big labor has formally endorsed immigrant amnesty because it recognizes its largest future constituency demographic in this black market labor force. Issue contact Michael Schnorr, south San Diego community college arts prof. org : BAWTAF
Grassroots opposition project Maclovio Rojas squatters camp issuing deeds to itinerant workers on govt land of
unclear title directly between two Southeast Asian owned maquiladora factories on the middle of the California-
Mexico border, thus establishing a working populist model at point of greatest contact for determination of how best
to address immigrant labor without violating trans-national immigration laws. |
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Mexico warns retaliation contra U.S. on truck ban ¹ 6.27.01 Reuters
MEXICO CITY Mexico warned on Wednesday it would retaliate with trade measures against the
United States if the U.S. Senate approves a measure prohibiting Mexican trucks from greater access to American
roads. In a vote late on Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the measure, which would force
Mexican trucks to first meet U.S. safety standards before they are allowed more access to U.S. highways.
President Bush said on Wednesday he would try to reverse the vote, and Mexico made clear it considered the
move "unacceptable." "In the event that the Senate approves this and it becomes law, it would leave us with no
other recourse than to take measures (against the United States)," Economy Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez told
reporters. He said one option would be to block imports of high fructose corn syrup from the United States, long a
source of trade friction between the two countries. Mexico has already placed prohibitive tariffs on the
sweetener. |
U.S. feeling Mexico's pain Border communities seeing effects of economic decline 6.27.01 Dean Calbreath SD UT
As the Mexican economy drifts into recession, border communities in the United States are beginning to suffer the
effects. Most U.S. border towns already have higher poverty and unemployment rates than the national averages,
but the situation has been getting worse as Mexico's economy falters. Between March and May, for instance, El
Paso, Texas, lost 2% of its jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. In the same period, unemployment in Imperial
County grew from 17% to 19.6%, the highest jobless rate in California. "Much of the employment decline in
Imperial County comes from seasonal fluctuations in agriculture," said Cheryl Mason, an official with the state
Employment Development Department. "But if the economy in Mexico worsens, there's likely to be a drop in
shoppers coming across the border from Mexicali to El Centro and Calexico." Mexican President Vicente Fox, on the other hand, blames the recession on the slowdown in U.S., which buys 80% of Mexico's exports. In an interview in Mexico City yesterday with Associated Press executives, Fox jokingly appealed for help from Mexico's patron saint. "We need to go to the Basilica and pray to the Virgin of Guadalupe so the U.S. comes back," Fox said. "Because we have everything to move, except that markets are extremely slow." So far, business along the California border has not suffered much, |
Solie Nahoray, who runs a jewelry store & pawnshop a few blocks north of the border in San Ysidro, has seen
a drop in customer spending on big-ticket items. Nahoray said jewelry purchases are running about 25% lower
than last year. But his pawnshop business is up, thanks to customers selling their cameras, bikes and guitars to get
cash. Other store owners said they haven't noticed a change, but they worry about the future. "So far this year,
business has been better than normal, thanks to the strength of the peso," said José Avila, manager of Mercado
Internacional 88, a San Ysidro grocery store. "But if the peso goes lower, things will be too expensive for some of
our customers." U.S. border communities have long been tied to the ups & downs of the Mexican economy.
But data recently compiled by economists from San Diego State University suggest that growth in income along the
border, except for San Diego, has slowed in recent years.
"There is a widening income gap between border communities and the United States as a whole," said Norris
Clement, a retired SDSU economist who co-wrote a soon-to-be-released study on border employment trends.
During a conference last weekend at Tijuana's El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Clement said that in the 4 years
before the North American Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1994, border-area salaries grew about 3% per
year. That is slightly ahead of the 2.7% average for the nation. But in the first four years after NAFTA, border
income growth slowed to 2.7%, well below the U.S. figure of 3.7%. McAllen, on the border between Texas
and Mexico, is the nation's poorest city, with an average income of $13,339.
"In some areas along the border, one out of three people live in poverty, while billions of dollars in goods are being
traded along the highways nearby," said Armando Garza, a trade adviser with the Texas Dept of Economic
Development. Federal Reserve economist Orrenius said one reason for the gap is that border residents typically
have less education & work experience than the nation as a whole. "The high school dropout rate along the
border is twice the national average, at a time when employers are putting a greater emphasis on education for
jobs," she said. Clement suggested that another reason for the income gap is that employment along the border
has not kept pace with the national average. Except for San Diego County, counties along the border typically have
among the highest unemployment rates in the nation, ranging from 6% to 20%. Although unemployment
along the border fell 25% in the 4 years after NAFTA, that drop lagged behind the nation as a whole, which saw
jobless rolls reduced by 35%.
Orrenius said the situation has improved in the past 3 years. "Unemployment in McAllen has been cut from
24% to 12%," she said. "That 12% figure is still too high, but it's a huge improvement from the past."
Mexico has done a bit better since NAFTA. Noé Arón Fuentes, an economist at the Tijuana college, said the
percentage of people living in poverty along the Mexican side of the border is one-third of the Mexican national
average. More than 6% of Mexicans along the border have a secondary education, compared with 4.5%
nationwide. But a recession could change those figures. Already, electronics and automotive companies have
begun laying off workers from Tijuana to Matamoros. Half a dozen newly built industrial parks lie vacant in Nuevo
Laredo, south of Laredo, Texas.
Fox said the U.S. govt could help Mexico bridge the economic gap that divides the 2 countries, much as wealthier European countries helped improve the economies of Spain, Portugal and Greece before they joined the European Union. "We're thinking in the long term we can open our borders," Fox told the AP executives. "All we have to do is narrow that gap."
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OCIAL JUSTICE |