Parinaz Nazari-ZadehURBS 350B, Prof. Ashwani VasishthFall 2005The Toxic MachineIntroductionThe word “Maquiladora” comes from the word maquilar, which means “to submitto the action of a machine” in Spanish. The Mexican Maquiladora program began in thelate ‘60s to help bring materials into the country for manufacturing through the BorderIndustrialization Program (Corporate Watch). The goal of the program, innocent enough,was to bring jobs to Mexico and provide cheap labor for manufacturers. But everythingcomes at a cost, and despite the fact that a great number of jobs are now available andoffered to the Mexican people it seems the costs are outrageously high. Low wages,awful working conditions and constant exposure to toxic chemicals outweigh the wageeffects of these large factories. There are over 3,000 of these toxic pools along theMexican-American border, mostly American owned companies that produce stock that isexported to US markets (EHC, 1998).What made the initial influx of American companies flooding over the border?Low cost labor is just the beginning of the story. In comparison to the States, labor ischeaper, but so are the costs in regulating production. Mexico offers a lax environmentwhere health, safety and toxicity regulations are sparse and effectively non-existent dueto weak enforcement. Toxic chemicals seep into the skin and lungs of factory workers,but more frighteningly, into the surrounding drinking water, unpaved roads, and soil inNazari-Zadeh22which the Mexican people grow their crops (Garcia). Birth defects and respiratorydisorders are two of the many consequences of the toxins seeping from these chemicalditches. Despite a multitude of attempts, the large corporations and money hungrymachines that keep the Maquiladoras running have stunted the growth or progress of anytrue movement toward a healthier work environment for Mexican citizens (Garcia). Let’stake a closer a look.Money Talks…The Mexican side of the border is inhabited mainly by low-income, working-classfamilies. The cost of labor in the neighboring US cities such as San Diego and La Jolla isat minimum wage of $6.75 per hour, whereas in Mexico the expense of labor perindividual is cut to only $3.40 per day (Corporate Watch). For the cost of eight hours ofwork at the rate of one minimum-wage factory worker in San Diego, a Maquiladora canhave over fifteen laborers. Cheaper labor computes to lower costs for assembly of goods.This leads to the big dollar sign: larger profit without larger investment, a major win-winsituation for companies.Woman and child labor is another money saving factor in the Maquiladora world.60% of all Maquiladora workers are female and many of them are under age 20. InMexico the legal age to work is 16, but forged documents that allow children as young as12 to work is terribly common. Women and children typically receive 10-30% less wagesthan men performing comparable work. (MLNA).The sales of products become more profitable not just because of cheaper labor,but also because Maquiladoras could sell up to 55% of their "increased production" in theMexican market. In other words, US products made in Mexico, could be sold to theNazari-Zadeh33Mexican people without paying foreign duties. With NAFTA enacted in January 1, 2001,this was changed, and all Maquiladora production could be sold in Mexico (Morales).In Los Angeles, there are heavy restrictions in place for manufacturers usingchemicals. After a specific concentration of designated chemicals have been employedand released into the environment, Los Angeles law requires that the shop be shut downfor the day. Manufacturing is undoubtedly discouraged here due to the heavily growingair pollution problem. Although Mexico provides a certain degree of environmental lawregulating the disposal of chemical waste, it has no correlating enforcement. Steel drumsfilled toxic soup are left out in the open, sewage and waste lines flow into streets, and anundrinkable water supply lies under the feet of the Maquiladora laborers (Reed).‘Colonias Maquiladora’The influx of migration (mostly from Central Mexico) to the bordering soils ofMexico & the US for work in the Maquiladoras has lead to another phenomenon knownas ‘Colonias Maquiladora’. When people moved to areas such as Tijuana and otherborder cities for work, the lack of housing forced people to set up and build homes withwhatever materials they could find without water or electrical services on vacant andunincorporated areas of land; essentially squatter settlements.Mother Nature has become a slave to the Maquiladoras. Without running water orelectricity, the inhabitants of the Colonias use whatever is available to them to survive.Water comes from nearby streams flowing with the toxins expelled from the factories, theunpaved dirt roads rich with pollutants that would be unthought-of in an urban setting.Life goes on: meals are cooked, children play, and couples have children, all in acesspool of toxins (Bolsterstein).Nazari-Zadeh44Inside the MaquiladorasThe health and safety conditions inside the Maquiladoras are as dangerous asthose in the surrounding Colonias. Community activists charge that the problems havelong been covered up because “companies have made under-the-table payments toenvironmental and health and safety investigators for years…” (Shields). On the jobinjuries involving large machinery, burns, and chronic illness due to chemical exposureare high and on the rise (Shields).Maquiladora firms are providing less and less safety equipment. When workersrequest safety equipment such as masks or safety glasses, they are charged for them. Inother cases, they are furnished with deteriorated equipment, which increases the risk level(Quiñonez 16). Temperature control is also an issue, summers offer smothering heat inenclosed areas occupied by too many people working with heavy machinery and toxicfumes (Quiñonez 15). Employees work in enclosed areas with water-based paints,organic solvents, mercury containing compounds, and many other damaging substances.In the United States, Federal and State safety regulations require that workers beequipped with appropriate masks and rooms with ventilation devices and fume hoods thatare regulated and checked annually when encountering and working continuously withsuch materials (Quiñonez 21).Toxic BathsThe Toxic chemicals in use in Tijuana’s Maquiladora industry include heavymetals, solvents, and acids. Illegal hazardous