1. Child labour in Mexico
By: jenna traub

2. About Mexico Population: 122.3 million
29 million children in Mexico, 4 million are
currently working, 1.1 million are forced to work
Flag: The meaning of the flag is, the green stripe
represents independence, white represents purity,
red represents people who joined the battle for
independence and their blood.

3. Types of Labour in Mexico
Areas of labor include agriculture, working in chile pepper plantations, tomato plantations, coffee bean and eggplant plantations.
Sex trafficking
Service, selling on the street.
Brick making
Talk about if you have ever been to mexico about all the children you see working there

4. The area I’m focusing on is
Agriculture
Types of Agriculture; chili pepper plants, tomato plantations, coffee beans, and eggplant plantations.
Start working on plantations as early as 5 years of age, continue working there until an adult
Both girls and boys work on these plantations

5. Meet Alejandrina Castillo
Alejandrina is 12 years old
Lives with her mother older brother,13, baby brother
She works on different plantations throughout the year to make as much money as she can
Has a toritalla for breakfast, works in 32 degree weather for nine hours, then goes home
Her mom took her out of school when she was 9
She earns $2 per 60 pound bag of
Peppers, in one day she makes about
$20

6. What is the government’s view on child labour in Mexico?
Type of government: Federal republic,
Their government has strict laws against child labour
Children under 14 are NOT allowed to work in any case
Teens the ages 16+ can work if they have the mandatory education
Why are kids ages 5+ working?
Mention how most of us will be looking for a job- but how we use the money differently.
Talk about the mandatory education needed

7. Why do kids work in Mexico?
As Alejandrina said in a video, “We need money to eat things.”
Families are often poor and uneducated, parents often rely on their children for the majority of they income to pay for food and rent
Kids can’t stop working, they’re family won’t have money to eat, to live, if they stop working… they die
There is demand for the items they harvest

8. Why did kids work in Britain in 1800s?
They didn’t have a choice, they small bodies were easy to fit into places, such as mining.
They were helpful during the textile industry,
their small hands working with thread and fabric.
Some needed somewhere to live, they were orphans after all
Boss’s liked them, they were cheaper to pay than adults.

9. Child labour in Mexico, how it affects children and their lives
Children start working at ages 5-7
If they drop out of school, they are stuck picking peppers for the rest of their lives
They don’t have the education needed to get a good paying job
Exposed to dangerous environment, injuries, don’t have medical care, poisonous animals, hygiene, transportation.

10. What was life like for the Child labourers during the Industrial Revolution?
Government took in orphan children then business owners would take the children and provide them shelter, food, and providing for them
Business owners liked their small hands to fix machines, and small bodies to get into the mines.
Difference between Britain and Mexico is… Government in Mexico knows about the labour and has laws against it. (Even though it still happens.) Britain knew about it but didn’t have laws. They thought the kids were useful and would make more money.

11. How did child labour affect the kids in Britain?
*A lot of similarities to Mexico*
No time to play
Started at a young age 5-8
If they didn’t pass away, they laboured the rest of they lives
Suffered deaths and injuries
*Differences between the two countries*
Britain Mexico
~Suffered tragic deaths and injuries- getting burnt in a chimney, black lung from the mine, fixing machines and losing limbs
~No education at all
~Different types of labour; mining, chimney cleaning, textile industry
~Injuries included scrapes and cuts, they didn’t lose limbs
~Although some children don’t go to school, a lot do in the morning for an hour or two

12. What does working on plantations entail?
Kids are working an average 10 hours a day on plantations
They pick tomatoes and peppers off vines and fill nets that a truck picks up
No one feeds you, bring your own water
You will probably be working on plantations for the rest of your life
Exposed to danger; cuts and scrapes that you can’t treat properly, dangerous transportation to and from fields.
You can’t stop, you need the money

13. Can we fix this problem? Was it fixed in England?
Mexico 2016
Britain 1800’s
Compared to other countries that have child labour, Mexico is one the better percentages of child labour.
Almost every child is guaranteed primary school
Number of children that work decreased because parents are getting better education and getting higher paying jobs
If we have charity's that can supply money and food to families, children can go to school to get a better education so they can get a job and eventually get rid of child labourers
Child labour was obviously fixed as it does not occur in England anymore
The problem was fixed because some people realised this was wrong and that kids needed an education.
The government realised this and now in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms kids have the right to education and play time.

14. Conclusion Mexico 2016 Great Britain 1800’s
Children start working at a young age until they are an adult, 5 being the youngest
Both male and female work on plantations
Exposed to dangerous risks, transportation, cuts they cant treat properly, exposed to the heat
Picking vegetables all day 10 hours
Get paid an average $14 a day
Both boys and worked during the industrial revolution
Exposed to very dangerous conditions
Often working overtime
Paid less than adults because they had no rights.
Government didn’t have any laws against it

15. Citations
Marosi, R. (n.d.). Product of Mexico. Retrieved January 12, 2016, from
Lillie, M. (2013, July 27). Child Forced Labor Part II: Agriculture in the Americas. Retrieved January 12, 2016, from
Child Labor During the Industrial Revolution. (n.d.). Retrieved January 14, 2016, from
Thatcher, W. (n.d.). Child Labor During the English Industrial Revolution. Retrieved January 12, 2016, from

16. Citations
Children at work in Mexico still a problem. (2013, January 18). Retrieved January 11, 2016, from
Cranny, M. (1998). The Industrial Revolution. In Crossroads A Meeting Of Nation (pp ). Scarborough, Ontario: Anita Borovilos.
BREAKING NEWS: Explosive LA Times investigative report blows lid off “story of exploitation and extreme hardship” in Mexican tomato fields. (2014, December 8). Retrieved January 13, 2016, from BREAKING NEWS: Explosive LA Times investigative report blows lid off “story of exploitation and extreme hardship” in Mexican tomato fields