Later today: Children sacrifice dreams in Mexico’s fields
Child labor is illegal in Mexico but an estimated 100,000 children under 14 still pick crops for pay. Some of the produce they harvest reaches American consumers, helping to power a boom in such exports to the U.S. On Sunday, read the final story in our four-part series “Product of Mexico.”
Alejandrina, 12, wanted to be a teacher. But she hasn't been to school for years. Instead, she spends her days picking in the fields with her family. "I work because we don't have any money and we need money to eat things," she told The Times.
Child labor is illegal in Mexico. Still, about 100,000 children under 14 pick crops for pay at small- and mid-size farms across Mexico.
This Sunday, read the final story in a four-part investigative series by reporter Richard Marosi and photographer Don Bartletti on the working conditions behind the steep rise in exports of tomatoes, cucumbers and other produce to the U.S. from Mexico.
For thousands of farm laborers south of the border, they found, the export boom is a story of exploitation and extreme hardship.
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