The film “Maquilapolis” (city of factories) chronicles the struggle of a group women in Tijuana who fought for their rights against international companies with factories in Tijuana. “Maquilapolis” was directed by Vicky Funari and Sergio De La Torre.

How many of us think about where simple everyday objects are made or the people who make them? Women far away in Asia, or closer to home, right across the border in Tijuana, assemble parts for T.V.s or other electronics. These women have lives very different from are own, or do they? They go to work, send their children to school and dream. The women who work in the milquadoras in Tijuana have been forced to work and live in conditions that we would find utterly foreign.

Community activists, or promotoras, deal with the chaos of toxic waste left behind by factories, other environmental devastations, and labor violations.

This film explores many complex issues from the viewpoint of the promotoras, providing insight into how globalization impacted the lives of these women. This is a good starting point for people interested in issues surrounding globalization.