Bracero Program
Migrant Farm Workers & the Bracero
Program
As the United States entered WWII many farm workers from all across the
country left the fields in order to fight on the battle fields or work in
the various
war industries. This had a dramatic impact on the American industry. The
farmers
found that they were lacking sufficient man power needed to harvest the
crops that
fed the nation. The United States government realized that this was a
major problem that
desperately needed to be solved. The solution was what came to be known as
the Bracero
Program. After much negotiation, the governments of the U.S. and Mexico
agreed to
establish a program for the exportation of workers from Mexico to the
United States.
The agreement called for basic protections to be guaranteed for the much
needed imported
workers. The Bracero Program went into effect on August 4, 1942. The
program lasted
from 1942 until 1964. Although protections were guaranteed by the
government, many workers found that the reality of the situation greatly.
Many of the Mexican
workers experienced discrimination from the Anglos despite their much
needed assistance.
The "Corrido de los desarraigados" is one of the protest songs
that emerged from
this period. This corrido about the "uprooted ones" was written
in 1942. The corridista
has experienced the Bracero Program and sends a warning to his countrymen
that it is not what it appears to be. He tells of the love and pride that
he has for his country
and of the mistreatment that he endured as a farm worker in the U.S. during
the Bracero Program. The contractors and truckers, he warns, are not to be
trusted because they resemble hungry wolves who are out for themselves.
We see from the very beginning
that the corrido follows tradition with the llamada inicial and ends with
the despedida
del corridista. In his final words he tells his countrymen that if they
want to keep their honor they should remain in Mexico and not cross the
river to the other
side.
Trey Hoover
UT Spanish student
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Bibliography
Return to Corrido de los desarraigados text