THE MAQUILADORA INDUSTRY ON MEXICO'S NORTHERN BORDER

IMPACTS ON WAGE AND INTERNATIONAL LABOR MOBILITY

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.61999/abet.1676-4439.2023v22n1.54891

Abstract

This paper analyzes the consolidation process of maquiladora industry in Mexico's northern border, based on the expansion context of Global Value Chains (GVC) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as forms of lowering production costs. Having arrangements like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as an institutional background, there is a growing presence of Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and the expansion of maquiladoras as a national export-led model, mainly composed by manufactures. Through socioeconomic data analysis, we demonstrate two aspects concerning the evolution of maquiladora industry in Mexico: Job creation is related to inferior wage levels with a low improvement throughout history, which may interfere on the social reproduction of labor force; It follows the rise in undocumented immigration to the United States, creating a tighter and onerous institutional response on border control as an attempt to contain the migratory flows.

 

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Author Biographies

Poliana Garcia Temístocles, Federal University of Santa Catarina

Poliana Garcia Temístocles is a Master in International Relations from the Post Graduate Program in International Relations at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). 

Rafael Alexandre Mello, University of Brasilia

Rafael Alexandre Mello is a Ph.D. candidate in International Relations at the University of Brasília (UnB), Brazil. He holds a CAPES scholarship and is a researcher at the Research Group on Latin America (IRel/UnB). He is currently working on the project ‘Tempos difíceis: a política comercial dos Estados Unidos para a América Latina (2009-2020)’.

Published

2023-05-30

How to Cite

Garcia Temístocles, P., & Mello, R. A. (2023). THE MAQUILADORA INDUSTRY ON MEXICO’S NORTHERN BORDER: IMPACTS ON WAGE AND INTERNATIONAL LABOR MOBILITY. Revista Da ABET, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.61999/abet.1676-4439.2023v22n1.54891