The four URLs below will take you to various WWW sites where an introduction to the operations of a Maquiladora are outlined generally or detailed statistically and more specifically.
A site that will help you to define the nature of the Maquiladora is provided by San Diego-based "Maq-Guide." Among the business services offered by this organization are "maquila start-up, site selection, contract manufacturing, assembly and packaging, shelter programs and maquila-to-maquila subcontracting." Go to: "What is Maquiladora Program?For a FAQ page about Maquiladoras, go to the site offered by Latino Beat.This site gives a brief overview and history of the Maquiladoras. The site is part of the "Global Solidarity Home Page" which appears to be a student group from the University of Texas at Austin. You will find this site titled "The Maquiladoras."Finally, a "fact sheet" that gives several indicators about the nature and effects of the Maquiladora program is available from Corporate Watch. This group describes itself in the following way: "Corporate Watch works to support efforts to build a movement for democratic control over corporations, human rights and environmental justice. With this in mind, we are working to harness the Internet as a vehicle for activism."
Based on what you learned from visiting the URLs above, answer the following questions:
What kind of business operations are conducted at Maquiladoras?Who are the primary owners of these businesses?How are these businesses reflecting the interests of various stakeholders: consumers, workers, governments, Maquiladora company shareholders, the communities where the Maquiladora programs are located, etc.?Given your answers to the above, what is your initial reaction to the operations of the Maquiladoras?