title: Labor attributes and strategies: the case of tomato workers in san luis potosi, Mexico.
abstract: In the context of the economic crisis in the 1980s that affected Mexico and the rest of Latin America, official policies encouraged commercial agriculture, especially the cultivation of export crops. During that period, women's entry into the paid labor market accelerated. For many women in rural areas, this meant widening opportunities for participation and a chance not only to help their families, but also to look for a partner, earn their own money, and "see the world." This article analyzes the incorporation of women into the tomato agro-industry in the Altiplano region of el Valle de Arista, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. It discusses the strategies that women workers use-physical appearance, experience, and efficiency-as characteristics that are "required" in order to stay in this highly competitive, segmented, and precarious labor market.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Estudios Antropológicos, El Colegio de San Luis, A.C., Parque de Macul No. 155 Fracc. Colinas del Parque, San Luis Potosí, SLP, México CP. 78299. imora@colsan.edu.mx
authors.forename: Maria Isabel Mora
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Ledesma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000383:Agriculture / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D018857:Food Packaging; D006801:Humans; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum; D008800:Mexico; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D014931:Women, Working; D000078329:Workforce; D055815:Young Adult