Mexican union leader urges richer Mexico to become America’s reliable factory floor

In an interview, Alejandro Martínez Araiza, national general secretary of the National Trade Union for Food and Commerce, described Mexico’s historic reliance on cheap labor as a purposeful system that prioritized investment over worker prosperity. He warns that while Mexico is the United States’ top trading partner, most of its export value still depends on low wages and that over 12 million Mexicans live abroad, primarily in the U.S. To transform Mexico into “America’s trusted factory floor,” he recommends that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement impose automatic sanctions for labor breaches, broaden enforcement to include logistics hubs, and adopt a $7.25-per-hour regional wage floor.

He also calls for a cross-border alliance of democratic unions to certify genuine workplaces, making labor standards a part of supply-chain security. Martínez Araiza stresses that Mexico cannot survive a trade war like China and that a credible, enforceable USMCA would provide the certainty needed for sustainable growth. He envisions Mexico as a front door for North American trade, selling globally-made products rather than exporting its workforce.