After gathering on the Amerikan side of the border, a group of about 25 people from many parts of the recognized United States walked across the border into Tijuana, Mexico.

Our first stop was CITTAC - Centro de Información para Trabajadoras y Trabajadores (the Workers Information Center), for a presentation about the terrible working conditions inside maquiladoras in Tijuana.

From there, we went to visit the remains of a well known maquiladora formerly used to process metals. We were inside the "free trade zone" known as Otay Mesa where there are both functioning and abonded maquiladoras. Otay Mesa, home to maquiladoras for numerous multinational corporations, such as Panasonic, has helped Tijuana earn the distinction as the television production capital of the world.

Otay Mesa looms over an extremly polluted community where many workers (approx. 10,000 families) from the maquiladoras live. According to CITTAC, most maquiladora workers are paid about $50 (amerikan) a week while risking their life, limbs and health. This is a very exploitive form of slavery. In other words, NAFTA is working as it was designed.

For more information on NAFTA, without reading anything or visiting Tijuana, I highly suggust listening to this song by Ryan Harvey -- The Ballad of NAFTA (mp3)