Ex-braceros protest for back wages in S.F.

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | August 3, 2002

[sarcasm]

San Francisco -- Former Mexican braceros and their supporters held a rally at U.S. District Court and Wells Fargo Bank headquarters in San Francisco demanding the payment of wages earned almost 60 years ago. During World War II, the United States and Mexico agreed to withhold 10 percent of the wages of the farmworkers -- who were recruited to replace American workers fighting the war -- until they returned to Mexico. A vast majority, say the laborers, who filed a class-action lawsuit against the bank and the two governments to recover an estimated $500 million in wages and interest, never received the money promised to them.

[sarcasm]

Another day, another scam. No mention, of course, that the money in question was stolen by the Mexican government.

[waxhaw]

My thoughts exactly; the U.S. government and Wells Fargo upheld their end of the bargain. The shyster lawyers representing the braceros know they'll get no joy in taking their case to the Mexican government nor the Mexican courts. And Mexican president Fox, who talks a good game when it comes to "supporting Mexicans abroad" (which is a euphemism for illegal Mexican migrants) will not touch this bracero issue with a ten-foot pole. He knows these people were shafted by Mexican banks and Mexican officials. However, the name of the game, especially since the Clintonista regime, is to portray Americans as the bad guys and the third-worlders as the abused. I live in Mexico City and the irony is while the Mexican media has been more than willing to point the finger of blame at Mexican officials and Mexican banks, our own U.S. media has not troubled itself to dig into and post the truth. (Big suprise, right?)

[sarcasm]

The New York Times (surprise, surprise) actually had a excellent article about this a couple of years ago. They probably demoted or fired the editor who was responsible for its publication.

[hoosierskypilot]

Great. More reparations. First the Japanese. Then the blacks. Now these guys. What's next? Women?