Global value chains and unequal development: the case of the automotive industry in Mexico
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Abstract
One of the main criticisms of the global value chains paradigm is that development
is planned and implemented by the elites, ignoring the working class, whose power has been
weakened due to the increase in outsourcing and relocation of productive activities. Following
this line of thought, in this article, we examine the interaction between capital and labor, as
well as the possibilities for workers to organize to achieve better working conditions. The
above occurs in a context in which the globalized capitalist system presents an exhaustion that
challenges the development narrative. It is shown that usually the working class is trapped
in precarious conditions that perpetuate inequality, but that when it is organized into popular
and legitimate movements via collective actions, its ability to access better social conditions
increases. This is evident from the recent strikes in the automotive industry internationally.
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