Testimonials of Bracero Workers and Employers
In response to World War II, the United States faced many repurcussions, damages and shortages in numerous areas. One of them were land workers. The majority of men were sent to fight as soldiers to fight in the for their country, in return the agricultural systems and development suddenly reached a point where it could potentially lead to a halt. Until the United States created a treaty and an agreement to allow Mexican migrants to come to work in the United States legally. Before, illegal migration was an issue until the treaty of the Bracero program came into place. The treaty was a sign of hope for a lot of Mexican migrants, because it meant that they could come to the United States to work and start a new life. Life in Mexico was not pleasing, nor satisfactory for around 2-4 million people who chose to participate in the Bracero program. However, the testimonials that you will see today expose that the new life or American dream that they were expecting was far from the contrary.This page will introduce testimonials of Rafael Morales, Emilio Solis Palleres and others who will collectively share to agree that they chose the Bracero for a better life, share their experiences, but all in a different manner.
The first set of testimonials is former Bracero Worker Rafael Morales and an employer of Bracero workers in the Sonoma County, Talmadge "Babe" Wood. Sonoma County is a county in Northern California known for their infamous winery. Before they were developed into what they are today, like most parts of the United States during World War II they experienced extreme shortages on farmers to work on their farmland. Out of the many ranchers in Sonoma County, it is said that Wood was most likely the first rancher to hire Bracero Workers in the county. The following videos share the perspective and story of an employer and employee of the Bracero program.
Other Bracero Workers such as Fausto Ríos share their perspective with as an approach to reveal the injustice and racism behind the program. Ríos shares in his testimonial that he was adamant and prevent himself from sharing his life as a Bracero. Although the initial focus of people who participated in the program did it to pursue a better life and believed they were taking advantage of an opportunity, after witnessing and experiencing the reality of the program, it haunts former participants such as Ríos. However, this haunting nightmare gave him the reason to break his silence and to share his story to the Los Angeles Times.
Chris Luna was also a former Bracero worker who was part of the program since the beginning. The following photograph illustrates the treatment that LUna describes. Luna confesses that he was referred to as a "dog" and was prevented from returning to Mexico when he realized the program was barbaric. Despite many Mexican migrants who came to the United States in search of a better life through the Bracero Program, workers such as Luna and their desire to return to their home country reveal the degree of the inhumane nature of the program was not worth suffering. The photograph on the right illustrates that these workers were only expected to work. The maltreatment, how they were being clothed, fed wasn't anyone's concern which aligns with Luna's confession of being referred to as a dog in which they were treated like one.
Albert de Luera Escabar, another Bracero worker and participant of the podcast, disclosed the eating conditions of the program in which he summarized: "They didn't give you a chance to rest... imagine the camp of seven to ten thousand people, giving them food to eat on long tables like this. At two or three in the morning, you would have to get in line to eat, because if you work up late, you have to go off to work without eating." Workers had to work all day, hours on end with their backs hunched over with little rest and poor food. It was not only men that participated in this program, but even young children, Josie-Cario Johnson who is a daughter of a former Bracero worker, was sought out and helped her family in the fields to pick out tomatoes.
Emilio Solis Palleres shares a slightly different perspective of his experiences as a Bracero worker. Palleres shares one of his most consequential and significant experiences as a Bracero in his experiences in harvesting cotton. He reveals that he almost had his arm amputated while working with a cotton gin and continues to imply that if you left because you were unable to work you would be sent back to your home country. The video cuts to his saying: "I lived a comfortable life." This statement arguably sets him apart from the other testimonials I gathered for his page, because unlike Chris Luna, Rafael Morales, and Fausto Ríos, Palleres reveals that he was able to live "a comfortable life" due to his employer helping him and his family gain papers in order to reside in the United States.
There are various perspectives of the Bracero Program, but collectively share the same message in which each strives to expose the history and strengthen the existence of the Bracero Program. Strengthening the existence of the Bracero Program also highlights the workers who went through the Bracero Program. It highlights the injustice, the maltreatment, and pushes for radical change and exercise the expository and evolutionary human rights change. The Bracero Program is another key part of history and sets a precedent to avoid this issue in future events.