The Right to Stay Home
How US Policy Drives Mexican Migration
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- 179,00 kr
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- 179,00 kr
Utgivarens beskrivning
The story of the growing resistance of Mexican communities to the poverty that forces people to migrate to the United States
People across Mexico are being forced into migration, and while 11 percent of that country’s population lives north of the US border, the decision to migrate is rarely voluntary. Free trade agreements and economic policies that exacerbate and reinforce extreme wealth disparities make it impossible for Mexicans to make a living at home. And yet when they migrate to the United States, they must grapple with criminalization, low wages, and exploitation.
In The Right to Stay Home, journalist David Bacon tells the story of the growing resistance of Mexican communities. Bacon shows how immigrant communities are fighting back—envisioning a world in which migration isn’t forced by poverty or environmental destruction and people are guaranteed the “right to stay home.” This richly detailed and comprehensive portrait of immigration reveals how the interconnected web of labor, migration, and the global economy unites farmers, migrant workers, and union organizers across borders.
In addition to incisive reporting, eleven narratives are included, giving readers the chance to hear the voices of activists themselves as they reflect on their experiences, analyze the complexities of their realities, and affirm their vision for a better world.
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Bacon (Illegal People), a labor organizer, immigrant-rights activist, and journalist, describes the factors that drive Mexican migrants across the border and into the U.S. These include the economic effects of NAFTA, environmental degradation, health hazards, anti-union policies, and, above all, low wages and poverty. As Bacon notes, 95% of the jobs created in Mexico in 2010 pay around $10 per day. He also examines the harsh conditions many Mexican migrants face in the U.S., such as the criminalization of undocumented immigration (whereas previously, undocumented immigrants were allowed to return to Mexico voluntarily) and the economic exploitation of short-term agricultural "guest" workers. By providing billions in remittances to Mexico while increasing U.S. corporations' profits, Mexican migrants serve the interests of both countries, Bacon observes. In a concluding chapter, he offers a number of ideas for reform, including giving migrant workers green cards instead of work-based visas and renegotiating trade agreements to eliminate the causes of Mexican workers' displacement. Bacon's book, which is enhanced by 11 personal narratives, will help readers gain a significantly more sophisticated understanding of the context and on-the-ground reality of undocumented migrants in the U.S.