The Movement That Stood Up to Mexico's Agro-Industry Bertha Rodriguez Santos - CIP Americas
go to original May 11, 2015

Police Repress San Quintin Farmworkers (teleSUR English)

The millions made in profits and the prosperity of the big growers contrasts sharply to the biting poverty of the men and women who work their fields in the San Quintin Valley of Baja California. The conditions they suffer have been revealed following the movement launched by day laborers several months ago.

May 8 marked the last day of the window of time given to the sub-secretary of the Interior Ministry, Luis Enrique Miranda Nava, to respond to the demands of the day laborers. Whether or not the government accepts the demands, the movement of thousands of fieldworkers has already revealed the profound contradictions of the neoliberal economy model. This model has been heavily promoted by the Mexican government policy since the administration of Carlos Salinas de Gortari (1988-1994).

After the uprising of around 80,000 workers of the San Quintín Valley on March 17, the Agricultural Advisors of Baja California offered a 15% wage hike. The workers rejected the offer, and since then there have been no negotiations between the representatives of the laborers and the government.

The workers, spearheaded by the National, State, and Municipal Alliance of Social Justice Organizations, want a raise to 200 pesos ($13.00 USD) a day. They initially asked for 300 pesos, or $20.00 USD. They have demanded 20 pesos a box for strawberries, 17 pesos for blackberries, 17 pesos for a box for cranberries, and 8 pesos for a bucket of tomatoes picked.

Currently, farm worker wages vary. For example, workers get more or less depending on whether it is high or low harvest season and on which farm the laborer works. A worker with an eight-hour shift usually earns between 115 pesos ($7.66 USD) and 130 pesos ($8.66 USD) a day.

Other demands of the movement include eliminating child labor and sexual assaults on women in the fields; providing basic services such as a sewage system, drinkable water and electricity; and decent housing.

Read the rest at CIP Americas

Photo Think Mexican

Related: San Quintín Farmworkers Demand Government Care for 80 Wounded in Police Invasion and Release 14 in Prison (Mexico Voices)

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