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358 THE ISA HANDBOOK IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIOLOGY

state-society distance expressed by several and the ‘oligarchy’. These are, of course, the
respondents: usual suspects in countries such as El Salvador
and Honduras, where the financial resources
... we find that many injustices are perpetrated in
this area, our people don’t have accessible health are concentrated in the hands of a few fami-
services, there are no medicines in the hospitals lies. But it is interesting to note in the respon-
(Case S5. Male leader of a student association in dents’ discourse, a link between the perceived
El Salvador).
‘systemic’ forces that create social injustice –
We also observe in the answers to the first namely the ‘transnationals’ – and their expe-
question a number of recurrent references to rience and perception of the maquila, both
the distribution of wealth, education, poverty, a reality and a symbol:
and employment. However, even if the indi- ... [in the maquilas] the human being is not seen as
viduals in our sample were contacted prima- human; the business people and the government
rily because of their participation in a social only see an object of production (Case S16. Female
movement or community-based initiative, in union leader in El Salvador).
several cases they tend to provide examples The participants – with no significant
of problems taken from their own personal difference between men and women –
experience: consistently point to the unfair conditions
they find at the maquilas – low wages, long
... speaking of wages in these maquilas, you earn
the same minimum salary that is not enough for hours, lack of social benefits – and deplore
anything. They make us work from seven in the the fact that these businesses do not behave
morning to seven in the evening with the same as responsible corporate citizens. They do
salary, because the extra hours get lost when you not pay enough taxes; they only take their
claim them; they say to you that you’re mistaken
(Case S3. Female worker and union organizer in El self-interest into account, etc. Although this
Salvador). discourse would be considered perfectly
normal in a North American setting, it
... the moment we need [a doctor], it becomes
quite difficult for us to have access to them even in reveals an intriguing phenomenon in Latin
hospitals, because they are concentrated in the America. The maquila or maquiladora is a
bigger hospitals. For us, to come from the coun- labour-intensive assembly plant wholly or
try’s interior, sometimes it is even difficult to get a predominantly owned by foreigners. The
means of transportation (Case H17. Male leader of maquilas manufacture products for export,
a peasant labour union in Honduras).
usually using parts and materials shipped on
Both men and women tend to spontaneously a duty- and tariff-free basis from the market
frame the idea of injustice in a narrative in to which the finished product is returned.
which the access to health and other social Their ‘foreignness’ is obvious to the workers
services summarizes and illustrates the they employ and to the communities where
denial of citizenship. While respondents of they are implanted. It is hardly surprising that
both genders display this tendency, it is inter- the maquilas have come to embody the
esting to note that female respondents use symbol of globalization in many Latin
politically charged categories such as American countries, particularly in Mexico
‘people’ or ‘government’ to answer this first and Central America. A key aspect of the
question significantly less often than their maquila is that young women represent a
male counterparts. large proportion, sometimes the majority, of
The second question (‘Who benefits from its workforce. A particularly interesting phe-
this situation where injustices prevail?’) aims nomenon is that the maquila’s foreignness
at bringing the respondents to name and paradoxically contributes to foster higher
describe the antagonist, a key representation in expectations regarding labour rights and
any socio-political narrative. Table 24.2 shows work conditions. They are perceived as
that ‘they’ are essentially ‘the rich’, the ‘busi- taking advantage of local corruption and
ness people’, the ‘banks’, the ‘capitalists’, laxity, but social activists measure the