For Mexican farmworkers, justice is more than needed. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto started a national program called “Mexico with Decent Work” to help “the respect, protection, and guarantee of human rights for farmworkers in Mexico, as well as to ensure decent work is fully in force.” Unfortunately, this only lasted a short two months before Mexican farmworkers were treated like animals again. The program was rescuing people working in slave-like conditions while other farmworkers went on strike for higher wages and better working conditions. Farm farmworkers are working 14-hour shifts, seven days a week, no holidays off with an $8.05 hourly wage all while also getting sexually assaulted in the fields by co-farmworkers. The Mexican government seems unable to respond to the reports of horrible working conditions, wages, and assaults. They ignore the obvious problems involving Mexican farmworkers because they are a major asset for the Mexican economy.
Source:
Mateo Crossa, “Mexican Farmworkers Strike for Better Pay and an End to Abuses on the Job,” CEPR, May 11, 2015. http://cepr.net/blogs/the-americas-blog/mexican-farmfarmworkers-strike-for-better-pay-and-an-end-to-abuses-on-the-job
Student Researcher: Cassaundra Zackey, Indian River State College
Faculty Evaluator: Elliot D. Cohen, Ph.D., Indian River State College