|
NOTE:
You've come to an old part of SW Online. We're still moving this and other older stories into our new format. In the meanwhile, click here to go to the current home page.
|
|
|
September 29-October 6, 2006
THE U.S.-Mexico border is more than just a boundary that separates two countries. But what else it represents depends on who you are.
For U.S. politicians, the border represents an intoxicating brew of issues to use for political gain--"illegal aliens," "drug dealers," "a threat to our way of life" and, of course, "terrorists."
For U.S. corporations, the borderlands mean big profits, a zone where non-U.S.-born workers will work for low wages under inhuman conditions.
For the vigilante groups that dot the border states, the rightward lurch in mainstream politics has enabled them to play out their "border war" fantasies on a much larger stage.
For the millions of workers and poor across Central and South America struggling to feed their families, the border represents the hope of a better life en el norte. But crossing it often leads to great expectations giving way to grim realities.
In August, Socialist Worker's JUSTIN AKERS CHACÓN, ERIC RUDER and NOHELIA RAMOS traveled from San Diego/Tijuana to El Paso/Ciudad Juarez and back to speak with activists, experts and migrant workers. Here we publish their day-by-day account of the journey.
|
