Some observers have framed what’s happened in Silao as the story of a heroic U.S.A. waving a fantastic trade agreement in Mexico’s face to rescue helpless Mexican workers. This take on Silao—the U.S. riding in on a white horse to save the day!—neatly fits in with classic north-of-the-border cowboy mythology. But this version of events fails to credit México’s own role in the outcome: the new labor law reform that requires contract ratification votes, the Mexican labor ministry’s serious probe of the Silao plant’s fraudulent first vote, and, most of all, the determination of the Silao workers themselves.
Interview: A Mexican Auto Worker on the Fight for a Real Union at GM’s Silao Plant
