March 23, 2004
Memo From Mexico, By
Allan Wall
Vicente Fox And The Braceros: Hypocrisy And Fraud
Quick, call
Morris Dees ! Which
xenophobic border
vigilante said this:
“The invasion of private property is
impermissible...we will always uphold the law and we are
going to be very vigilant so that the fundamental
principle of private property is not violated.”
Ranch Rescue’s
Jack Foote?
Roger Barnett? The Tombstone Tumbleweed’s
Chris Simcox?
Not this time.
The principled defense of
private property above was uttered by none other
than—Vicente Fox, Presidente of Mexico!
Yes, that’s right. The same
Vicente Fox who calls Mexican illegal aliens in the
United States “heroes.”
The same Vicente Fox who has condemned Arizona ranchers
for
defending their ranches. The same Vicente Fox who
hasn't even
done much to defend property rights
here in Mexico.
Why did Fox become so adamant in
the defense of private property?
Because this time it was his own
private property being violated!
Which of course is an entirely
different matter.
On February 8th, 2004,
Vicente Fox got a taste of his own medicine. This time
it wasn't the distant property of gringo ranchers being
invaded, nor even of ordinary Mexicans (that happens a
lot too). It was the Fox family ranch.
The Fox property is located in the
Mexican state of Guanajuato. (Just out of curiosity, I
once attempted, unsuccessfully, to
enter that ranch.) Some 2500 protestors of the
Alianza Braceroproa illegally and forcibly entered
the ranch, surprising the security detail and causing
the president's poor mother to faint. A day later, the
media reported that Fox was still visibly disturbed over
the incident.
Any landowner could sympathize with
the Fox family—except for his hypocrisy.
Who are these eponymous “braceros”
(literally "strong arms," equivalent to
"hands" as in "hired hands" in English).
What is their cause?
The
Bracero program was a
guest labor scheme in which 1-2 million Mexican
laborers worked temporarily in the United States. It was
jointly operated by the U.S. and Mexican government and
lasted from 1942 to
1964.
When the program was first
negotiated, one of the Mexican demands was that
braceros laboring in the U.S not be subject to
racial discrimination, i.e., that they be treated like
whites and not like blacks.
Anyway, the
braceros working during the 1940s had what was
potentially the sweetest deal. These laborers had 10% of
their wages put into a special pension fund. That fund
was to collect interest for decades until they were
ready to collect. After several decades, it would have
been a sizeable sum of money. By now, it would be a
fortune.
It's 2004. Those men who were
braceros in the 1940s are getting along in years now
but they still haven't received that money!
Where is it? Now, 60 years later,
nobody knows.
Yes, the braceros definitely
do have a valid grievance.
It reminds me of a Bible verse:
“Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down
your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth:
and the
cries of them which have reaped are entered in the
ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.”
James 5:4
In this case of defrauded laborers,
who is to blame? There are several possible culprits,
since the money passed through several hands. In the
United States, the transactions were handled by Wells
Fargo. If Wells Fargo is to blame, it should certainly
pay up. After all, Wells Fargo makes
plenty of money nowadays off
illegal aliens utilizing their
matricula consular cards.
In Mexico, the pension fund was
managed by government banks, some of which no longer
exist!
How convenient for them. I guess
they can't pay back any money. [Mexican
Government Harvested Laborers' Savings while Working in
U.S., By Stephen Wall, Knight Ridder/Tribune
Business News, Mar. 15, 2004]
Now why do I have the sneaking
suspicion that eventually, one way or another, it's the
U.S. taxpayer who's going to foot the bill for the
Bracero program?
Because things are already moving
in that direction.
Since 2000, a
class action lawsuit, brought on behalf of 100,000
former braceros, has been pending in federal
court in San Francisco. Originally the suit was filed
against all the possible culprits: the U.S. and Mexican
governments, Mexican banks and Wells Fargo.
But in 2002, the court dropped the
suits against all the parties involved—except the
U.S. government.
In other words, Wells Fargo, the
Mexican government, and Mexican banks are off the hook.
Only the U.S. government is still being sued. The
extraordinary rationale: the U.S. government was the
trustee and “violated its fiduciary responsibility to
safeguard savings.” Funny how that worked out. [Procesan
demanda de ex braceros contra EU, Feb.
12th, 2004, El Universal]
It would be good if justice were
served after all these years, and whoever lost the money
had to repay it. Somehow though I doubt that will
happen.
I believe that whichever
institution lost the money is responsible to pay it
back. But frankly, my suspicion is the money vanished
decades ago, disappearing into some black hole in the
Mexican government financial complex. Of course it was
put to use somehow. Maybe it was used to purchase
country homes for Mexican officials, or something of
that nature. But the braceros, the men who
actually earned it, didn't receive it.
And whoever lost the money, it's
likely that the U.S. taxpayer will repay it.
It would be prudent to remember the
Bracero experience as we are being
pressured to embark upon a new guest worker program.
American citizen Allan Wall lives and works legally in
Mexico, where he holds an FM-2 residency and work
permit, but serves six weeks a year with the Texas Army
National Guard, in a unit composed almost entirely of
Americans of Mexican ancestry. His VDARE.COM articles
are archived
here; his
FRONTPAGEMAG.COM articles are archived
here; his
website is
here. Readers
can contact Allan Wall at
allan39@prodigy.net.mx.
