Olson 5
Nowadays, nearly every consumer product you buy will say it’s made somewhere other than the United States. From t-shirts to toys, production outside of the United States is generally a fraction of the price even considering transportation. The words “Made in China” are most frequently seen in recent years. However, 20 years ago, the cheapest, most available labor was in Mexico. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) dropped taxes on exports from Mexico to the United States, which created the cheap option for companies to produce in Mexico and export to the United States. “Made in Mexico” stickers were the original foreign production stickers. This modern day imperialism is called globalization. Private companies from other…show more content… Individuals draw their identities from how they were raised and their hometown culture. This mainly stems from their parents. However, the women in “Malintzin of the Maquilas” came from all across Mexico to work in the factories, with the majority leaving their families. They came to start a new life and make more of a living than in their original town or on the farm. One woman says that she “was going to make ten times more money in a month than [her] family would make in a year” (Fuentes 124). In her situation, her family forced her to work in order to support them. She had to leave her family and her home to work because the drawing in effect globalization and higher wages along the border create. In some cases, leaving home is a natural step in growing up and forming an identity. However, most of the workers were forced to leave their home for undesirable conditions and an abrupt change in culture that will change identity. This is the same situation for most women and workers along the border. They all leave their home, separating their identity with the…show more content… The first scene of the documentary shows vehicles trying to ford a dark, unforgiving river that is unsafe for inhabitants. All throughout the river, the viewer can see trash and debris making the landscape look similar to a landfill. A factory worker, who lives near the river, says how the river used to be clean and playable when she was a child. Now, her children have to avoid it and not experience the freedom of playing in the river. Another effect of globalization besides pollution is the overpopulation that occurs when the factories draw in large amounts of workers. The surrounding area is not ready for the large growth which leads to several life-threatening issues for locals. Sewage spillage and powerlines exposed on the ground that the Mexican government will not help to fix. This destruction of the land due to globalization separates the locals from the land that they care about and ultimately alters their
