The garment industry in three localities: a mexican-style production

Abstract

The purpose of this article consists in identify the characteristics of the productive model used by companies located in the Central-West regions of Mexico, particularly in Zapotlanejo in the state of Jalisco, Uriangato and Moroleon in the state of Guanajuato. The technique used in this research was the semistructured interview, which led to inquire
about characteristics of the factory, labor force profile, organization of the work and the learning of the profession. With the information gathered, the case studies were done for each locality. A relevant aspect to point out is that interviews took place in the workplace since it was there where the entrepreneurs could explain how the process of production is performed, permitting to observe both the machinery and the interpersonal relationships with its employees. Among the main findings in this research, it is essential to point out that the garment workshops in the localities of Zapotlanejo, Moroleon and Uriangato are situated preferably in housing units. The importance of the family emphasizes why
the members are conceived as labor force, since it provides the economic resources to the company through loans because the entrepreneurs do not have access to bank loans due to bad reputation of such institutions. Therefore, this productive model is an atypical one, firstly because the workplace is a combination of home and workshop; this originates that the social and productive roles are combined in the same space. In these factories, it can be observed children playing with tools that belong to the workshop or performing simple tasks that permit to create strong ties of solidarity in the workplace, guaranteeing an early qualification for the labor force.