Pros And Cons Of The Bracero Program

During the World War II, the Unites States was suffering a difficult time obtaining the diverse agriculture because of the war. The U.S. government was short in supplying agriculture. The country did not have enough workers to produce their lands. Then on August 4, 1942, the United States and Mexico created the Bracero program to keep American agriculture productive. The Bracero “(Spanish for "arm-man"—manual laborer) program continued uninterrupted until 1964. The agreement guaranteed a minimum wage of thirty cents an hour and humane treatment” such as food and shelter. Of course, for many Mexicans this program was the salvation of poverty because there were many that cannot afford to support their families in Mexico. They were some very

However, for Americans the Bracero Program was the opportunity to keep their land producing agriculture, the program has some advantages, but others can look at it as disadvantages (The Bracero Program).

Some of the advantages that the Bracero Program brought were the hiring of illegal workers, financial compensations, living expenses and transportation. The program was able to bring Mexican workers and give to them temporally employment. The owners of the land pay for their work and give to them transportation to and from the farms they were working. In addition, according to “the Debate Over Guest-Worker Programs” the bracero program was directly to rural workers from Mexico and the majority of

This was during World War II. The translation in Spanish was "arm-man—labor man", as in the United States needed the strong arms of Mexican workers because the country was experiencing a difficult time during the war (bracero Program). Because of the bracero program, many Mexican workers entered into the United States, and change their lives. They could afford to have money to help their families with housing, food, and education for their children. However, in 1964, “ there had been numerous reports that the [workers that participate in the Bracero program] were underpaid, overworked, harassed, and housed in poor living conditions.” So the United States Department of Labor officer in charge of the program called it “legalized slavery” and the Congress terminated the program in 1964 (The Debate over Guest-Worker