Low-wage maquiladora workers are dying young in Mexico from coronavirus
BAJA CALIFORNIA, Mexico — At 33, Silvia Lorena Abrego Hernandez never thought about being a widow
Her 35-year-old husband, Jose Luis Cebrero Cisneros, drove an armored truck that transported money to and from maquiladoras and other border businesses. His long shifts stretched sometimes until 3 a.m. For this work, he was paid the U.S. equivalent of about $15 a day, or $90 a week.
Jose had a mild hypertension condition. Still, his death on April 12 from the coronavirus was such a shock that Abrego said she halfway expects the hospital to call and say they made a mistake.
In Baja California, the number of relatively young people like Cebrero who are dying from the virus is steadily growing. One reason might be that Mexico, and Baja California in particular, is much younger than the United States. But some health and government officials also say the fatalities reflect the heavy toll coronavirus has taken on workers at border factories.
Some maquiladoras — factories, mostly foreign-owned, that manufacture products for export to the United States and other countries — opened in early May under pressure from the United States, after American automotive and other factories ran short of parts sourced from south of the border. Some of the Mexican factories had to shut down again after becoming centers of coronavirus outbreaks in recent months, and are just reopening.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/low-wage-maquiladora-workers-are-dying-young-in-mexico-from-coronavirus/ar-BB159WVZ
