The new here and now--revisited
October 16, 2007
Immigration/Commerce News
Mexico Taps New Labor Export Markets
Confronted with diminishing prospects in the United States, Mexican
workers could soon find additional employment opportunities in other
places abroad. At a Madrid summit this week, the Spanish and Mexican
governments signed a 12-month pilot program that will ease job placements
for temporary Mexican workers in Spain. Scheduled to begin on January 1,
2008, the program will be open to workers in a variety of fields. In a
veiled poke at US immigration policies, Mexican Labor Minister Javier
Lozano Alarcon praised the new bilateral agreement between Mexico and
Spain.
"Instead of walls, agreements are constructed when there is will,
sensibility, intelligence and understanding," Lozano said.
Free of charge to potential workers, the labor agreement will also permit
some Spanish citizens to legally work in Mexico. Currently, an estimated
10,000 Mexicans reside in Spain, half of whom are students. Mexican
tourists visiting Spain number approximately 300,000 each year. Previous
to the deal with Mexico, Spain signed guest worker accords with Colombia
and Ecuador. No specific figure of how many Mexican guest workers will be
contracted in Spain was immediately announced.
Meanwhile, more Mexican workers could be heading north to Canada. Despite
reported abuses and other problems in an existing Canada-Mexico guest
worker program, some Canadian political and business leaders are appealing
for a dramatic increase in the number of Mexican guest workers allowed to
work in their country.
After a recent meeting with Mexican Interior Ministry official Florencio
Salazar, a Toronto city councilman told the press that he wanted much
greater numbers of Mexican workers employed in Canada.
"Hundreds of thousands of workers are needed," said Toronto Councilman
Giorgio Mammoliti. "The (Canadian) business community has a big interest
in counting on (Mexican) workers, and we have expressed this at the
highest levels of both governments." According to Mammoliti, skilled
Mexican labor is needed in the construction, tourist and service sectors.
"There are many Mexicans who go to Canada to work but they are not trained
for these areas, and the problem is that we need a lot of personnel."
Mammoliti added.
Under an existing agreement, temporary Mexican workers are allowed to
labor in Canadian fields. Launched in 1980, the program's enrollment grew
from 678 workers during its first year to 9,913 in 2006. At its 2005 peak,
the program employed 11,720 Mexican workers. In recent months, however,
the Mexican press has carried stories about allegedly poor working
conditions faced by Mexican agricultural guest workers in Canada. No
immediate Mexican response to Mammoliti's proposal was forthcoming, but
the Canadian politician assured a reporter that Mexican officials are "in
favor of expanding" the guest worker program beyond agriculture. "We are
confident of a bilateral negotiation," Mammoliti said.
Sources: La Jornada, October 12, 13 and 15, 2007. Articles by Fabiola
Martinez, and the AFP and Notimex news agencies. El Diario de Juarez,
October 15, 2007.
Frontera NorteSur (FNS): on-line, U.S.-Mexico border news
Center for Latin American and Border Studies
New Mexico State University
Las Cruces, New Mexico
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My smidgen of a claim to fame is that I have had so many really good friends. By Bernie Swaim December 2007
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