Agrarianism and nationalism: Mexico and the Bracero Program, 1942-1947 (immigration, migration)
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Description
The Bracero Program of August 4, 1942 allowed Mexican workers to enter the United States to remedy labor shortages caused by World War II. The reasons for American involvement in the program were evident, but Mexico's reasons were not as clearly defined The Mexican Revolution of 1910 produced major changes in land and labor laws. By 1940, industrial workers had received extensive rights; expropriation of large estates and land distribution had soared. If twenty years of social revolution (1920-1940) were designed to improve conditions for the population, why did Mexico permit its workers to migrate to the United States where they had encountered historical social and economic problems? The dissertation studies the Mexican operation of the program for the first time using archival sources from the National Archive in Mexico City and includes information from the presidential files of Manuel Avila Camacho and government agencies. Documents from the Historical Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Relations were also essential Mexico used the program to extend agrarian and nationalist policies emanating from the Revolution. The government expected workers to acquire new talents which they could use to improve agricultural production in Mexico. It was concerned about domestic production and tried to regulate the number of participants. Mexico was able to extract specific protections for its workers from the United States in light of historical discrimination against Mexicans. Mexico showed the workers that it had their interests in mind when it joined the program Workers returned with changes in the lifestyles; some had improved their skills. The program did not fully protect them from discrimination in the United States, and there were abuses of fraud and smuggling in Mexico. Neither government could offer complete protection. The program also exacerbated the problem of undocumented migration The war forced both nations to seek mutual solutions to problems, and the program created harmonious diplomatic relations. Throughout the preceding twenty years of social revolution Mexico had devised policies to give the people a greater stake in society. The Bracero Program became part of that process and an integral part of the Mexican Revolution