Arturo McFields
Half-baked and shoddy projects, labor exploitation, debt traps and devastating environmental damage are part of the Chinese Communist Party portfolio. And people are noticing.
In 2014, the China Railway Construction Corporation won the bid for the “bullet train” in Mexico — a multi-billion-dollar project which, after 11 years, remains a dead letter. Lack of transparency was one of the main criticisms of this important railway infrastructure project that promised to revolutionize transportation in Mexico.
The Chicoasen II hydroelectric plant is another example of Chinese investments that have been strongly criticized for alleged labor rights abuses. Twelve-hour workdays, insufficient protective equipment, control over unions and lack of overtime pay are among the main claims of Mexican workers.
In Brazil, China has been questioned by international organizations for practices similar to modern slavery, both within and outside its borders. According to organizations like End Slavery Now, repression and human rights abuses are a huge challenge. In China, ethnic and religious minorities (Christians, Muslims and others) perform forced labor in the name of “re-education.” That helps the Communist nation compete with lower prices against U.S. products.
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