Mexico's Labor Rebels

The beneficiaries of Mexico's privatization gold rush are worried.

With the election approaching and popular discontent at record levels, President Vicente Fox, a former Coca-Cola executive, has tried to reassure his wealthy supporters that his economic reforms would continue protecting them. These patrons include the Villareal family, whose Grupo Villacero owns the huge Sicartsa steel mill in Lázaro Cárdenas, Michoacán. (The plant was given to them in 1991 by former President Carlos Salinas for a tenth of its real value, making them instant billionaires.) And the Larreas, who got Mexico's two great copper mines, making their Grupo Mexico one of the world's largest mining companies.

Mexico's superrich aren't the only ones with a lot to lose. In mid-June, reports surfaced in the press of a plan by the Ford Motor Company, already one of Mexico's largest employers, to invest $9.2 billion more, while moving to close fourteen North American plants and lay off tens of thousands of US workers.

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