Anti-union practices in Mexico under the USMCA framework

This book analyzes the contemporary dynamics of labor force control in Mexico. It goes beyond a mere description of labor conflicts and focuses on revealing that the Mexican trade union system operates not by failure, but by design. For this reason, the phenomenon of anti-union practices is far more than a set of isolated actions by employers; it is, in essence, an organized effort that draws on state structures, corporate complicity, and the participation of corporatist unions to strengthen a network of protection, corruption, and institutional collusion aimed at erasing independent and democratic workers’ struggles in Mexico.

The book identifies the actors behind these anti-union practices through the metaphor of the “three-headed monster”—the State, corporations, and corporatist unions—a figure that illustrates the oppression faced by the independent labor movement, which is forced to struggle not only against employers but also against institutional harassment by the State. The work seeks to represent the voices of Mexican workers who, on a daily basis, strive to make respect for their labor rights and access to a dignified life a reality. Finally, the book advances a complex hypothesis: the possible emergence of a “fourth head”—organized crime—which could form alliances with corporatist unions to impose violent control over the labor force. This troubling hypothesis proposes new lines of research focused on labor and criminal analysis, potentially shedding light on one of the darkest facets of Mexican corporatism.