Abstract

MENDOZA-VARGAS., Edwin Oscar  and  GARIBAY-OROZCO, Claudio. Economic rationalization of labor on the Dominican-Haitian border: The case of CODEVI. Íconos [online]. 2024, n.79, pp.207-226. ISSN 1390-8065.  https://doi.org/10.17141/iconos.79.2024.5982.

The article exposes the public policy of closing the border of the Dominican Republic against the Haitian population since 1937, a situation that has been beneficial for global corporations that have increased their profit margins by taking advantage of the context of poverty, violence, and racism experienced by the Haitian population. The case of the textile corporation Compagnie Développement Industriel (CODEVI) is studied, which has placed an industrial site on the Haitian-Dominican border line. Methodologically, an anthropological and geographical study was carried out, consisting of interviews and visits to both workers and company officials, in addition to a documentary review of the economic policy of both countries and the legislation regulating transnational corporations. In this way, the creative political, legal, technical, and territorial devices used to exploit cheap Haitian labor are exposed, evidencing the national and racial segregation imposed by the textile company. It is concluded that this system of labor exploitation generates great economic profits in exchange for a minimal investment that does not contribute significantly to overcome the extreme poverty experienced by workers living in the impoverished Haitian border town of Ouanaminthe.

Keywords : Global corporation; CODEVI; political frontier; textile industry; racism; Ouanaminthe..

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