Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States in her visit to Mexico announced a package of 130 million dollars (mdd) in support of Washington to defend labor rights.
“Mexico and the United States have a common mind about what we can do to support workers’ rights, understanding that this is in the best interest of all of society,” Harris said in a meeting with specialists and union leaders.
The meeting was attended by Imelda Jiménez, a union leader from northern Mexico; Inés González, president of the Network of Trade Union Women, and Pedro Américo Furtado, representative for Mexico and Cuba of the International Labor Organization (ILO), among others.
The vice president recalled that earlier, in her interview with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador at the National Palace, her government offered $ 130 million for Mexico to implement the labor reform over the next four years, which guarantees labor justice and freedom of association.
“I met with the president (of Mexico) this morning, I know he shares the feeling about the importance of supporting organized workers,” he told union leaders.
Harris, in charge of migration and the Washington Labor Council, makes her first official visit to Mexico from Monday night until Tuesday afternoon with the purpose of addressing migration and economic cooperation.
The labor reform is an essential part of the new Treaty between Mexico, the United States and Canada (T-MEC), which has already registered its first labor complaints in General Motors plants in Silao, Guanajuato, and in an auto parts plant in Matamoros, in the border.
Harris noted that US unions, which pushed for changes to the T-MEC, support their Mexican counterparts.
“I send you greetings from organized workers and unions in the United States who feel a great sense of connection with the work that you are doing here,” he said.
South priority
Earlier, he announced a package of assistance and loans from the United States to generate 250 million dollars in the south-southeast of Mexico, one of the priorities of President López Obrador.
With López Obrador, Harris witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between both countries to address the causes of migration and support the expansion of Mexico’s social programs in Central America, as one of young professional apprentices.
At the union meeting, which followed one with female entrepreneurs and business leaders to address gender equality and pay, Harris said the Joe Biden administration is one of the most “pro-unions in history.”
“Understanding that this is in the best interest of all of society, it is in the best interest of economic prosperity that we make this work,” he said.
With information from EFE.
