Consuming Mexican Labor: From the Bracero Program to NAFTA

Ronald Mize, Alicia Swords

University of Toronto Press, Oct 15, 2010 - Social Science - 304 pages

Mexican migration to the United States and Canada is a highly contentious issue in the eyes of many North Americans, and every generation seems to construct the northward flow of labor as a brand new social problem. The history of Mexican labor migration to the United States, from the Bracero Program (1942-1964) to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), suggests that Mexicans have been actively encouraged to migrate northward when labor markets are in short supply, only to be turned back during economic downturns. In this timely book, Mize and Swords dissect the social relations that define how corporations, consumers, and states involve Mexican immigrant laborers in the politics of production and consumption. The result is a comprehensive and contemporary look at the increasingly important role that Mexican immigrants play in the North American economy.

Contents

• Establishing Connections: 1
• Operation Wetback 1954: 25
• Mounting Resistance: 43
• Organized Labor and Mexican Labor Organization: 63
• Backlash and Retrenchment 1980s1990s: 91
• Regions: 107
• Mexican Labor in Aztlán: 113
• Mexican Labor in the Heartland: 133
• Mexican Labor in the Hinterlands: 151
• chapter: 162
• Mexican Labor en la Frontera: 175
• The Impact of NAFTA from: 193
• From Temporary Workers: 215
• Conclusion: 235
• Glossary: 251
• Index: 273

About the author

Ronald L. Mize is Associate Professor in the School of Language, Culture, and Society at Oregon State University. He is the author of over 40 publications, including Latino Immigrants in the United States (Polity Press, 2011).

Alicia C.S. Swords is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Ithaca College. She is a Fulbright scholar whose research and teaching is engaged with grassroots organizations working for social justice and to end poverty, locally, nationally, and internationally.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Consuming Mexican Labor: From the Bracero Program to NAFTA
• Authors: Ronald Mize, Alicia Swords
• Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 2010
• ISBN: 1442604093, 9781442604094
• Length: 304 pages
• Subjects: History / Latin America / Mexico; Social Science / Emigration & Immigration; Social Science / Ethnic Studies / American / Hispanic American Studies