Advocates hope petition drive will aid braceros

By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee

Advocates of former Mexican guest workers are holding a month-long petition drive outside the Mexican Consulate in hopes of getting that country’s government to relax its rules for who qualifies for a long-overdue payment.

Last year, a settlement between the workers — known as “braceros” — and the Mexican government provided $3,500 for qualified workers, who fought for years to collect money that was deducted from their paychecks and sent to Mexico.

Although the settlement was hailed as a victory, the process to qualify has been difficult and confusing for some.

Workers were required to show original documents such as work contracts to prove they were part of the guest-worker program that operated from 1942 to 1964. But advocates and workers want the Mexican government to expand the list of qualifying documents.

“So many people don’t have their originals, but they have other proof that they worked here,” said Martin Lopez, a bracero. “We want them to be more flexible.”

Mexican consular officials could not be reached for comment, but they have said that while they understand the problem, they must have a system to prove who qualifies.

Leonel Flores, coordinator of the Union of Ex-Braceros and Immigrants in Fresno, said he and braceros from around the central San Joaquin Valley will collect petition signatures in front of the Mexican Consulate in downtown Fresno during the month of June. The petitions are turned over to consular officials daily.

Flores and the former workers want the Mexican government to reopen the registration and allow other forms of documentation, including notarized letters and immigration records. The deadline to register for payment was in January.

Flores estimates that of the 3,000 braceros in the Valley, about 750 have qualified.

“For 10 years, we have been asking for justice for the braceros, and we think the government should understand that some people are not qualifying,” Flores said. “And we think they should do something. Time is not on their side.”

Many of the workers are elderly and some are in poor health, Flores said.

His organization continues to work with Mexican legislators to change the law in Mexico and expand the number of former guest workers who can receive payment for work long past.

The bracero program dates back to World War II, when the U.S. and Mexican governments cooperated to bring guest workers to the San Joaquin Valley to cultivate and harvest crops while much of the national work force was diverted to fighting Germany, Italy and Japan.

A portion was deducted from the braceros’ pay and sent to Mexico in a savings fund. This was designed to encourage workers to return to Mexico once the United States no longer needed them after the war, but the money went missing in Mexico.

In January, the Mexican Consulate in Fresno decided to allow former guest workers to apply for their payment at the consulate at 2409 Merced St.