The survivors of the World War II era U.S.-Mexico guest worker program are asking the Mexican government to close a painful chapter in labor history. This morning, a group of former agricultural workers and their beneficiaries gathered in downtown Los Angeles to demand that Mexican officials release a list of some 5,000 families who are owed back wages.The Bracero program sent 2.5 million Mexican nationals to labor in fields across the U.S. between 1942 and 1964. The ex-braceros say the offer by the Mexican government of a one-time payment is a small fraction of what is owed to them. Still, many say it brings closure to what they call a painful chapter in exploitation by both the U.S. and Mexican governments.
Pacifica’s Ernesto Arce has more from Los Angeles.