"As its workers stream to the U.S., Mexico runs short of farmhands"

"ETZATLÁN, Mexico ? For decades, Mexicans crossed the border to pick
Americans? lettuce, grapes and strawberries. Mexico had a seemingly
inexhaustible supply of farmhands ? tough, hard-working men who did the
jobs most Americans didn?t want.

But the country is running short of farmworkers.

The workforce is graying; nearly three-quarters of Mexican campesinos
are over 45. Young people are turning up their noses at farm jobs. And
those willing to do migrant work have other options. Nearly 300,000 a
year travel to the United States on seasonal agricultural visas, a
fourfold increase in a decade.

?They?re taking a significant percentage of the available workers,?
fretted Aldo Mares, a farm executive here in Jalisco state. He?s had to
scramble this season to find workers to pick his juicy strawberries,
blackberries and raspberries.

The worker shortage reflects a paradox often overlooked in the
supercharged U.S. immigration debate. Even as American politicians outdo
each other in proposals to fortify the border with Mexico, economic
forces are pulling the two sides closer. The U.S. appetite for made-in-
Mexico goods, from avocados to automobiles to airplane parts, is growing
so fast that it?s straining the workforce that produces them."

"In a once-unthinkable move, Mexican farmers are now calling for a major
guest-worker program of their own."

"Even today, two-thirds of employees on American farms are Mexican-
born."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/23/mexico-farmworkers-us-
economy/

TB

On 3/23/2024 9:47 AM, Technobarbarian wrote:
>
>
> "As its workers stream to the U.S., Mexico runs short of farmhands"
>
> "ETZATLÁN, Mexico ? For decades, Mexicans crossed the border to pick
> Americans? lettuce, grapes and strawberries. Mexico had a seemingly
> inexhaustible supply of farmhands ? tough, hard-working men who did the
> jobs most Americans didn?t want.
>
> But the country is running short of farmworkers.
>
> The workforce is graying; nearly three-quarters of Mexican campesinos
> are over 45. Young people are turning up their noses at farm jobs. And
> those willing to do migrant work have other options. Nearly 300,000 a
> year travel to the United States on seasonal agricultural visas, a
> fourfold increase in a decade.
>
> ?They?re taking a significant percentage of the available workers,?
> fretted Aldo Mares, a farm executive here in Jalisco state. He?s had to
> scramble this season to find workers to pick his juicy strawberries,
> blackberries and raspberries.
>
> The worker shortage reflects a paradox often overlooked in the
> supercharged U.S. immigration debate. Even as American politicians outdo
> each other in proposals to fortify the border with Mexico, economic
> forces are pulling the two sides closer. The U.S. appetite for made-in-
> Mexico goods, from avocados to automobiles to airplane parts, is growing
> so fast that it?s straining the workforce that produces them."
>
> "In a once-unthinkable move, Mexican farmers are now calling for a major
> guest-worker program of their own."
>
> "Even today, two-thirds of employees on American farms are Mexican-
> born."
>
> https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/23/mexico-farmworkers-us-
> economy/
>
> TB
>

I can just see Americans cash strapped by the disastrous Bidenomics
failure, streaming over the border into Mexico to find work. They'll be
doing work Mexicans don't want to do. I guess they'll be issued a
"gringo" card.