My Trip to Mexico

   In the beginning of this class we took a trip to Mexico. We left around 6 AM and did not return till about 12 AM. During our trip to Mexico we visited a few sites and people. We visited such places as a Maquiladora, which is a factory in Mexico. We also visited a place called Groupo Beta, which is like a place where immigrants can get info on the harshness of the desert. We also had some food with locals. We then had dinner and had a guy named Kiko Trujillo. After we had the trip I was suppose to write a paper about what interested me.

Here is what I wrote:

When I heard that I had to take a mandatory trip to Mexico, I was skeptic and didn’t really want to go. Eventually the day came and I got a little excided about going to Mexico, since I haven’t been there in some time. I thought it would be fun to see what it was like and how the economy of another country works. But when I got down there my whole perspective on why I was down there changed. I noticed the wall that was on the U.S/Mexico border and also the way the houses were built and looked like shanties.

Even though most of the house looked like shanties and had little to no running water, this is all that the people could afford. The reason that Mexico’s economy is down is due to the NAFTA or North American Federal Trade Agreement, according to Kiko Trujillo. It was pretty interesting to listen to a man that has worked his way up the ladder of a corporation, just to quit it and go back down a lower authoritative position. He also started to talk about how well the company was running, then NAFTA came in to existent and Mexico’s economy started to slip lower and lower. According to the Top Ten Reasons to Oppose the Free Trade Area of Americas written by Global Exchange about 400,000 jobs were lost in the U.S by the NAFTA agreement where as Mexico suffered 8 million people slipping from middle class to poverty. One millions Mexicans also make less than minimum wage due to NAFTA.
            Also while in Mexico, we stopped at a Mexican Immigration place called Grupos Beta. This place deals with teaching immigrants who are trying to cross the border the dangers and precautions to take while in the desert. While at this build we talked to a set of immigrants who crossed the border and then encountered the hardship of the desert. They eventually made it to a road where they flagged down a car and eventually got deported back to Mexico. Many of these immigrants try to cross the desert thinking that the town they are trying to reach is just over the next hill. They don’t bring enough water and don’t realize that it is a four day hike to Tucson. In the article Searing heat, soaring toll: Increasingly crossers aren’t likely to survive written by Tim Stellar and Ignacio Ilarra it states that in 1998 there were three deaths to every 100,000 apprehended immigrants. Then it spiked to 41 deaths to every apprehended immigrant. Also the article states that Tucson sector is the only place that the deaths have been increasing significantly in 1998.

The trip I took to Mexico was a learning experience that I will never forget. It made me realize how much hardship there is in Mexico. I also give those who live in Mexico more respect. I now have a wider aspect on why immigrants cross the line. This trip to Mexico will never escape my mind; I will carry this all through the rest of my life.