Frontera NorteSur April-May 2003

Selling Sweets on the Maquiladora Floor to Survive

Visible from many parts of West El Paso along I-10, the Ciudad Juárez neighborhood of Anapra is one of the city's poorest areas. An article in the Ciudad Juárez newspaper El Diario estimates that the average family survives on 500 pesos a week (approximately US$45 at the current exchange rate). The area also has a gang problem and some of the Cd. Juárez serial-killing victims lived in Anapra before they met their horrible ends.  

Juan Vazquéz, who runs the "Pan de Vida" (Bread of Life) kitchen in one of the poorest parts of Anapra, says that more people are constantly showing up at the center to receive free food. Currently, his Christian-supported center is giving bread and water lunches to 1,300 children per week. He acknowledges that it is not much but says that the children drink their water like it is milk.

Vazquéz says that Anapra families eat beans, rice, soup, corn tortillas and very infrequently, chicken. His own center gives out bread made from wheat because someone from the US provides it to the center. 

Many of the homes in Anapra are built by US volunteers with groups like Casas de Cristo, according to El Diario. 

In one of the Casas de Cristo homes lives María Victoria de León and her four children. Known around the neighborhood as doña Vicky, she recently found herself worrying about a 700 peso water bill. With just one source of water, an outdoor spout, de León knows she can not have used so much water.

She would like to inquire about the shockingly-high bill but because she does not have money for the bus to get to the water utility office, she is planning to borrow 500 pesos to help her pay the bill. She says that some time later she will inquire about why it was so high.

The electric bill is another source of worry. Last month her bill was 163 pesos but she has only a refrigerator, three light bulbs and a TV. The bill is expensive compared to her salary but she accepts it because she notes that the TV is always on in the house. 

De León works for the company Tatung, in a maquiladora, and earns a base salary of 360 pesos per week (about US$33) plus a weekly bonus of 190 pesos.  However, she supplements her income by clandestinely selling sweets and other treats on the floor of the maquiladora. 

Her thirteen-year old child has dropped out of school but the eleven-year old goes to junior high while the nine and seven-year olds go to elementary school. 

De León says she gets no help from the government, nor from her husband. "He took off a short while ago--he got mad and left-- there's no use crying about it though, I have my hands and my legs to work, it's OK." 

Source: El Diario, February 7, 2003. Article by Martín Orquiz. 

Exchange Rate Hits 11.05 Pesos to the Dollar

On Monday, January 27, 2003, the US dollar was selling for up to 11.05 pesos at Ciudad Juárez banks. According to the Cd. Juárez newspaper El Diario, the peso is at a low not seen since September, 1998 when repercussions from the Russian economic crisis struck Mexico. The pesos recent fall has come as a shock to border residents, many of whom have stopped exchanging money in the uncertain financial market. Last January, the dollar was selling for approximately 9.3 pesos. 

Across Mexico, the weaker peso is being presented as both an economic benefit and a liability. With the dollar gaining in strength against the peso, Mexican goods are cheaper in the US and could aid Mexican exports. Also, Mexican labor and assembly look better for foreign investors as the peso becomes cheaper. However, Mexicans also fear that the weaker peso will make imported goods more expensive and will drive up inflation. 

José Luis García Arenas, president of the Asociación de Centros Cambiarios (Exchange Centers' Association), said that the dollar is rising in value in Mexico because of fears of a war with Iraq and how a possible war could affect the Mexican economy. Seeing the dollar above 11 pesos has stopped people from either buying or selling currency in Cd. Juárez, he stated. García also said that some money-exchanging businesses reported doing no business on Monday, January 27. 

Salvador Orozco, an analyst with Grupo Financiero Santander Serfín in Mexico City, agreed that the uncertain situation between the US and Iraq is the cause of the peso's fall. Other Mexico City bank representatives said that exchange rate volatility will continue through the end of the week. 

Source: El Diario, January 28, 2003. Article by Rocío Gallegos.