Mexican Voices of the Border Region

by Laura Velasco Ortiz, Oscar F. Contreras Montellano

2011 · Temple University Press

Every day, 40,000 commuters cross the U.S.-Mexico border at San Diego to go to work. Untold numbers cross illegally. Since NAFTA was signed into law, the border has become a greater obstacle for people moving between countries. Transnational powers have exerted greater control over the flow of goods, services, information, and people. This book examines the flow of people, commercial traffic, and the development of relationships across this border. It shows that since NAFTA, Tijuana has become a significant place for both nations in terms of jobs and residents. The authors emphasize that the border itself has different meanings whether one crosses it frequently or not at all. The interviews probe into matters of race, class, gender, ethnicity, place, violence, and political economy as well as the individual's sense of agency.