The Bracero Program was a series of bilateral agreements between Mexico and the United States that allowed millions of Mexican men to work temporarily in the U.S. agricultural industry from 1942 to 1964.
This website examines the Mexican Bracero Program (1942-1964), a bilateral agreement between Mexico and the United States that brought millions of Mexican workers to labor in American agriculture. Through a careful analysis of primary sources, oral histories, and scholarly research, we explore how this program impacted both nations, with particular focus on the Mexican government's problematic involvement.
Research Focus
Examining how the Bracero Program undermined Mexico's own development goals by draining vital labor from rural communities at a critical point in the nation's modernization efforts.
The Bracero Program was one of the most significant labor agreements of the 20th century, yet its complex legacy remains understudied and often misrepresented in popular narratives of immigration history.
Deborah Cohen, Braceros: Migrant Citizens and Transnational Subjects, 2011
Historical Significance
The program's scale made it one of the largest managed labor migrations in history, profoundly shaping agricultural production in the United States and economic development in Mexico.
