The Mexican government's reaction to the Bracero Program shifted over time, from early enthusiasm to growing concern about illegal immigration and labor exploitation.

The Mexican government's initial approach to the Bracero Program was optimistic and pragmatic. President Manuel Ávila Camacho's administration (1940-1946) viewed the program as an opportunity to secure labor protections for Mexican workers who would migrate regardless of official channels. Furthermore, officials anticipated that returning braceros would bring back agricultural skills and capital that could contribute to Mexico's modernization efforts.¹

This optimism quickly gave way to concern as implementation problems emerged. By 1944, the Mexican government had lodged formal complaints about discrimination against braceros in Texas, eventually blacklisting the state from program participation until 1947. Mexican consulates documented over 5,000 contract violations between 1942 and 1947, primarily related to wages, housing, and food quality. However, their enforcement capabilities remained limited.²

The Mexican government's primary concern should be to protect and develop our own labor force for our national industries. Instead, we facilitate the exploitation of our workers by foreign interests while our own fields lie abandoned.

Vicente Lombardo Toledano, Mexican labor leader, speech to the Confederación de Trabajadores de México, 1954

By the early 1950s, Mexican officials became increasingly alarmed by the program's unintended consequences, particularly the surge in undocumented migration that accompanied legal bracero flows. A confidential 1954 memorandum from the Secretaría de Gobernación (Ministry of Interior) acknowledged that for every legal bracero, an estimated 2-3 undocumented Mexican workers entered the United States. This undocumented migration undermined Mexico's negotiating position and reduced the economic benefits of the program.³

In response, Mexico developed its own border enforcement apparatus. The Mexican Migration Service (Dirección General de Migraciones) expanded operations along the northern border, establishing 23 new checkpoints between 1953 and 1956. A declassified 1956 order instructed border officials to "discourage and prevent the irregular departure of Mexican workers," authorizing detention of those lacking proper documentation for bracero participation.⁴

Cooperation with U.S. enforcement efforts also intensified. During Operation Wetback in 1954, Mexican border officials coordinated with U.S. authorities, arranging special trains to transport deportees deep into Mexico's interior rather than simply returning them to border cities. Between June and December 1954, these trains transported approximately 42,000 deported Mexicans from the border to central Mexico, an unprecedented level of bilateral enforcement cooperation.⁵

We cannot continue to be the perpetual supplier of cheap labor, the safety valve for the United States. Our policy must change to retain our workers for our own development needs.

Editorial, El Universal newspaper, September 18, 1963

Opposition to the program grew within Mexico over time. Labor unions, particularly the Confederación de Trabajadores de México (CTM), initially supported the program but reversed position by the mid-1950s, arguing that it undermined domestic wage levels and labor bargaining power. Intellectuals and the left-leaning press increasingly criticized the program as a form of national humiliation and economic dependency. By the program's final years, Mexican officials were no longer lobbying for extension, reflecting a significant shift in national assessment of its value.⁶