Impact of neoliberal policies on the profile of technological high school graduates in El Salto, Jalisco.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact that the development of the electronics industry has had on the labor profile of young people in El Salto, Jalisco. One of the municipalities in western Mexico where industrial activity has had the greatest development during the so-called neoliberal period, in which Mexico opened up to foreign investment and economic policies were implemented that encouraged labor flexibility. To do so, the testimonies of a group of technological high school graduates who have built their educational and labor careers in this context are collected. Among the findings is the fact that the graduates have adapted both to the labor logic of the neoliberals and to the dynamics of modern and global industries. It is also observed that the graduates have made an effort to develop a profile in accordance with the needs that the macroeconomic environment proposes to them and that, consequently, they have developed an identity as technicians that allows them to distinguish themselves from other inhabitants and workers in the municipality.