Posted on 01/29/2005 6:01:55 AM PST by Ron H.
Mexicans who toiled on U.S. farms between 1942 and 1964 under the Bracero program are ready to "besiege" U.S. President George W. Bush's ranch in Texas to press their demands for money owed them in their retirement, an activist who fought with Nicaragua's Sandinista rebels said Tuesday.
José Puente León told EFE that the former braceros are determined to march on Bush's ranch just as they did last year on the ranch owned by President Vicente Fox in Guanajuato.
"We're ready to besiege Bush's ranch in Crawford to press for the payment of the 9 billion pesos (US796.4 million) that the governments of Mexico and the United States owe the exbraceros," Puente León said.
The U.S. president's 620hectare (1,500-acre) Texas property includes cattle pastures, woods and a pond.
The Bracero program, created in response to a shortage of farm labor in the United States during World War II, allowed Mexicans to enter the country and work in the fields. Ten percent of the braceros' pay was withheld and deposited in savings accounts for return to the workers when they went back to Mexico.
According to U.S. officials, the deductions were deposited in the Banco de Mexico, which transferred the funds to the institution formerly known as Banco Agricola and now called Financiera Rural.
But the money never found its way back to the workers and Mexican authorities now claim they have no record of the deposits. The former workers are urging Fox and Mexico's Congress to find a way to pay them what they are owed.
Puente León, who advises the Braceroproa group that advocates on behalf of the former farmhands, says the payments are due to some 90,000 workers or, where applicable, to their heirs.
"We will not rest until justice is done for the ex-braceros," vows the 69-year-old engineer, who trained as a guerrilla in Cuba before taking to the mountains of Nicaragua to join the Sandinistas in their ultimately successful battle against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.
Hundreds of ex-braceros plan a march on the capital next month to urge legislators to create a trust fund that will guarantee the workers receive everything they are owed, Puente León said.
http://www.el-universal.com.mx/pls/impreso/noticia.html?id_nota=9048&tabla=miami
This may be of interest to those on the --- PING --- list.
They may find that seige of the ranch a little harder than swimming or walking across that river.
Talk about "must-see-T.V"!
"Ten percent of the braceros' pay was withheld and deposited in savings accounts for return to the workers when they went back to Mexico. . .the deductions were deposited in the Banco de Mexico, which transferred the funds to the institution formerly known as Banco Agricola and now called Financiera Rural. "
Banking corruption in Mexico??!!
I don't believe it.
There you go President Bush hows that for a "worker program" almost like the one that you are currently trying to pass?
"an activist who fought with Nicaragua's Sandinista rebels said Tuesday."
I would guess that we have some people around that know how to deal with this guy.
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
I think they forgot to mention the US Secret Service that carries a whole lot of fire power to protect that ranch.
Yes sir!
Talk about your prime time happy hour. ;)
I'm not a fan of this either; my one real major disagreement with the President. I always laugh at this, for such a "evil imperialist" country a lot of people go out of their way (suffocate in the holds of ships, roast in the desert) to get here. I of course would rather they get IN LINE like our grandparents and great-grandparents did. Oh yeah, and trying not to leech or blow anything up while they're here would be appreciated.
You think?! </snicker>
Hope we kept the receipt.
Attta boy! Definitely must see!
I don't believe it.
I know. What horrors. Who would've ever thunk it!
Are they going to make a run at the border or try to cross at a checkpoint. I wonder how many will be turned back.
Yes, Mexico corrupt banks steal their money. And the American Taxpayers are suppose to reimburse them? BS.
Maybe if Jorge wasn't bent on opening the U.S. Treasury to Mexico he coould consider a plan like the one described in the article.
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