We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, September 20, 2013

Neoliberalism Plays Key Role in Economically Forced Mexican Migration to US

Click here to access article from Truthout featuring an interview with author David Bacon.

Few Americans realize that migrant workers from Mexico and Central America are usually forced to move north in order to survive due to neoliberal policies enacted since the late 1990s. 
NAFTA allowed the dumping of corn, meat and other agricultural products in Mexico at low prices by huge corporations whose costs in the US are subsidized by the US farm bill.  They did this in order to take over the market....
In spite of political rhetoric coming from the mouths of corporate-sponsored right-wing sources, corporations and the ruling class in general love migrant workers. Because they are so vulnerable they will work cheaply, will not complain about hazardous working conditions, and will not try to organize unions. They are the ideal source of labor to create better bottom lines in corporate financial statements.