These assembly plants were given the name "maquiladora" because of their special production arrangement. Maquiladoras temporarily import materials for assembly by Mexican workers, without payment of tariffs, and then re-export the finished product. Calling the factories maquiladoras is a way of describing the extra value added to products manufactured in Mexico and then sold to foreign markets at inflated prices outside the country.

Starting in the 1960's and 70s, Mexico built these large industrial complexes or export processing plants, and they quickly attracted international textile companies with dreams of severe cost-cutting. Thirty years later, the number of maquiladoras has multiplied exponentially to some 2,500 factories, employing 1.15 million Mexican workers and producing everything from electronic equipment to fashionable clothing. In Ju·rez alone there are 220,000 workers employed in some 300 factories.

The passing of the U.S.-backed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994 was the catalyst for this maquila boom. Annual earnings of the maquiladoras currently exceed $200 billion dollars, and make up 85% of the trade revenue generated between Mexico and the U.S.

The maquila workers do not share the wealth accrued by these corporations. An average work week lasts 60-70 hours, and wages are estimated at $5.75 for a full day's work. It is estimated that it takes a maquiladora worker 4 hours and 17 minutes of labor to buy a gallon of milk.

Female maquiladora workers, making up 70% of the workforce, face additional problems in the factory system. Subject to sexual harassment and discriminatory hiring practices, women deal with a much tougher work environment than their male colleagues. Upon hiring, women face the possibility of pregnancy testing, and pregnancy can result in the termination of their employment at any time.

Maquiladora workers generally live in rapidly constructed shantytowns, called colonias. These expanding colonias are the primary residences for the vast number of Mexican migrants consistently relocating to live closer to jobs in the maquilas. Constructed with industrial scraps found in surrounding areas, the shelters do not effectively keep out wind, water or pests, but they provide an immediate solution to the housing crisis.

Many Mexican officials maintain that the maquiladoras are beneficial to the economy, as they keep domestic workers employed in their native country and bring in an enormous amount of foreign revenue, yet labor organizers criticize the factory system for the chronic low wages and poor working conditions. Controversy surrounding the growth of Mexico's maquiladoras is far from over, as the nation's economy depends crucially on the employment offered by the factories.

SOURCES: Merriam-Webster Online; "La Linea: Gender, Labor and Environmental Justice on the U.S.-Mexico Border," by Julie Light, CorpWatch; "El Paso and Ciudad Juárez" by Robert Anthony, Ann Brooks and Kenneth Lo

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