The husband worked for a maquiladora and wasn't home when we visited. They had two toddlers and were in their twenties. The wife welcomed us in.
They lived in a stone-built 15’ x 6’ oval with a thatched roof. It was one room and they slept hammocks hung from the walls. During the day the hammocks were put up. The floor was dirt. The back door opened onto a small yard with a couple of chickens walking around. The husband had suspended a tarp from the house into the yard and extended their living area. Under the tarp was a jerry-rigged stove pipe leading to a little barbeque-type stove.
They were really poor. My friend's beaming and asks the wife about their life here. The woman replies that it is miserable, but then the maquiladora came. Now her husband has work, before he had none and they were at the mercy of either the local church or government.
She then showed off her newly electrified home with a real outlet. They had a little tv and she was thrilled with the tarp, chickens and barbecue. She didn't have chickens before and they provided eggs and meat. The tarp area was a dream come true for her. She used to have to cook inside the house and it would be hot and smokey. At night, it was so hard to sleep. Now, she can cook outside and there isn't any smoke.
She loved the maquiladora and thanked God for it. My friend, her deeply held notions of US capitalistic imperialism dashed by an honest Mayan housewife, didn't talk the whole drive back. True story.
Great story.
Reminds me of my liberal sister complaining how I "made" my employee work on Saturdays & paid him just a little over 1$/hr. The thing is the guy enjoys a 5min. commute from his 3 bedroom home on a 3,000 sf lot, (no property taxes and fone, elect. water, sewage are < $20/mo.). His job benefits include medical, retirement, school thru univ. for the 3 kids.
Liberal min. wage laws make his lifestyle illegal in the US. The leftists may actually think they care about others but they're so out of touch that they end up doing so much harm.
And whatever this MNC was producing was no doubt being made a lot more affordable for millions of American consumers.....it’s called commerce done in freedom in each party’s best interest. WHAT A CONCEPT.