by TAMARA PEARSON
Unequal trade relationships have created inhumane working conditions in Mexico and Central America, causing large scale human displacement.
US president Joe Biden claims he wants to prevent migration from Mexico and Central America by addressing its root causes. However, to do that, he would have to crack down on the US’s own violent and exploitative role in the region, and that isn’t the plan.
In February, Biden issued an executive order to “address” and “manage” migration in North and Central America. It argues that “violence, instability, and lack of opportunity” should be rectified in order to prevent people fleeing their country. Addressing the root causes, it says, involves combating corruption, promoting respect for human and labour rights, preventing gang violence, and addressing economic inequality.
The order also intends to “expand Central and North American countries’ … resettlement capacity; and increase opportunities for vulnerable populations to apply for protection closer to home.” That means resettling refugees in Mexico and Central America.
Biden’s policy for Central America also includes a US $4 billion plan to supposedly address “factors driving migration”. They however involve “reducing barriers to private sector investment” and “ensuring labour practices do not disadvantage competition”. As usual, this “aid” comes with conditions, where the US orders receiving countries to “undertake significant, concrete, and verifiable reforms”.
These policies paint the US as the saviour of a giant and long term crisis that it was in fact a key contributor to. They are a cover-up for decades of the US’s looting and intervention in the region, and they are a thin disguise for the US government’s patronage of its transnationals. They overlook the fact that the US isn’t qualified to promote human rights or solutions to violence.
The corporate occupation of Mexico and Honduras
There are 6,000 maquiladoras (mostly export-oriented and foreign-owned factories) in Mexico, and 90 percent of them are near its border with the US. There are hundreds more of these factories in Honduras.
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