|
|
Article: Time trip.(Mexican farm workers in the United States during World War II)
- Article from:
- Current Events, a Weekly Reader publication
- Article date:
- April 22, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Weekly Reader Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
President Bush's guest worker proposal brings back memories for many Mexican farmworkers known as braceros. (Bracero, or "arm man," comes from the Spanish word brazo, which means "arm.")
During World War II (1939-1945), the governments of the United States and Mexico signed the Mexican Farm Labor Program Agreement (better known as the Bracero Program), which permitted experienced Mexican farmworkers to legally enter the United States during harvest season. The United States needed farmworkers because so many U.S. men were fighting overseas or working in U.S. factories for the war effort. The program benefited Mexico because the country had soaring unemployment ...