The relationship between Mexico and the United States is as complex as it is old. Each has and continues to loom over the politics and culture of the other, and this intertwined history has had a profound impact on the social fabric of both countries. We often see today the rather adversarial side, but the neighbours have been partners more often than not, even once fighting the European powers together in the Second Franco-Mexican War. Another high point came during the 1940s, when labour shortages caused by the Second World War necessitated an organized influx of Mexican labour to support an economy on war footing. This government-sponsored immigration was called the Mexican Farm Labour Program, or more informally as the Bracero Program.
Bracero is Spanish for "Manual Labourer". By the time the program was established in 1942, Mexican migrant labour was hardly a novel concept. For much of the 20th century Mexican men crossed the border looking for work. Jobs were mostly low-paying, seasonal and involved grueling physical labour, hence them being called braceros.
Developed in conjunction with Mexican authorities, the program sought to legalize and regulate the relationship between illegal migrant workers and the American businesses which sought them as a cheaper source of labour. The program mandated minimum wages significantly higher (30 cents/hour) than Mexico's standard of living at the time, and protected workers from discriminatory treatment. To ensure that Braceros returned to Mexico upon the end of their contracts, 10% was deducted and held by the U.S government to be returned upon return. Many braceros would ultimately never receive this money, a significant point of contention today. Despite this, the Bracero Program would become quite popular, sponsoring over 5 million workers during its 22 years.
While it helped address the wartime shortage, the attractiveness of Mexican workers to growers meant that the number of braceros admitted would continue to climb, averaging 200,000 a year from 1948 onwards. This would quickly become a source of tension in Washington, as union leaders viewed the Bracero Program as competition for jobs. An investigation by the Truman administration concluded that the Bracero Program had a depressive effect on wages, bolstering calls to cancel the program.
Instead it would be renegotiated in 1951, with clauses inserted preventing businesses from hiring braceros to replace strikers, while barring braceros from themselves striking or otherwise renegotiating their wages. This ended up doing the opposite of what both parties intended, and in a sense hastened the program's eventual demise a little over a decade later. Lower wages compared to their American counterparts meant that demand for braceros remained consistently high, and the promise of legal jobs and higher wages than could be found in Mexico meant that applications consistently outpaced available spots.
By the 1950s illegal immigration had increased markedly, as rejected braceros crossed illegally anyways, like those who had worked the fields before the program's creation. Much like back then, these workers usually worked for much lower wages than the sponsored braceros, and without the benefit of government oversight they often experienced deplorable conditions. Along with the development of newer, more efficient technology, illegal migrants would help render braceros obsolete, leading to the program's cancellation in 1964.
Sometimes overlooked, Mexican grievances also played a role in the program's demise. Church and government officials worried about the social impact of so many men, many of whom were married with families, leaving for months at a time. Fears of discrimination and abuse were prominent as well, necessitating the clauses stipulating protections mentioned earlier. And while the Mexican government viewed the Bracero Program as providing an influx of money and training in modern agricultural practices, some local officials worried that the popularity of the program would result in labour shortages in Mexico. And yet ultimately both they and the Americans would recognize how intertwined the southwestern US and Northwest Mexican economies had become.
What's remarkable is that much of the sentiment on both sides back then mirrors arguments around the border and migration today. Then, like now, Americans recognized the inherent appeal of Mexico as a source of cheap labour, despite deep anxieties over the threat they posed to American workers. Likewise, Mexico viewed emigration to America as a valuable source of money and expertise, but remained sensitive to perceived exploitative behaviour on the part of its neighbour. While successive episodes have added various other dimensions, at its heart the American-Mexican relationship is one characterized by a power imbalance and half-buried grievances. And yet the Bracero Program demonstrates how despite this lingering mistrust, pragmatism has fostered a long history of intermittent partnership between these two countries on a whole raft of issues, in the process injecting several shades of grey into their incredibly nuanced shared past.
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