ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the patterns of migration within Mexico and to the United States. It shows that internal migration has flowed toward more developed areas, including the northern border, and that most migrants to the United States are workers who tend to concentrate in border states. The chapter traces the development of the industry in Mexico since its inception in 1965 through the 1980s. It describes the impact of maquiladoras on the structure of the work force and on Mexican migration, both internal and to the United States—the latter based on the findings of studies undertaken by Mitchell A. Seligson and Edward G. Williams in 1980 and Jeffrey T. Brannon and G. William Lucker in 1987–1988. The chapter describes the study done for the Commission for the Study of International Migration and Cooperative Economic Development and presents its general findings on the structure of the work force in the maquiladoras studied.
