CASH FOR CLUNKERS MEANS LOSS OF JOBS IN MEXICO

(ORF) JUAREZ, MX. Carlos wipes his greasy hands off with a soiled rag and steps back from the 1997 Chevy truck he is working on. He pushes his ball cap back on on his sweaty hair and takes an inventory of the cars and trucks in various stages of disrepair on his Juarez used car lot. The lot used to be full of used American vehicles bought at auctions in the U.S. Now there are only ten cars on the lot. The U.S. Cash for Clunkers program has devastated Carlos' once thriving used car and mechanic business. Carlos worries he will not be able to support his wife and thirteen kids. Other Juarez businesses are feeling the impact of the Cash for Clunkers program. Carlos used to employ two other mechanics. He was forced to let them go because of lack of used vehicles from the United States. His two mechanics have migrated north to the United States to find work.

Carlos used to give unusable car parts to a family that made lamps and religious sculptures out of the parts. This family business has since closed and the family migrated north to try to find jobs in Texas. The burrito wagon that stopped by Carlos' mechanic shop went out of business because Carlos can no longer afford to buy a lunchtime burrito from the local merchant. This merchant also packed up shop and headed for Colorado in the United States in search of work.

"Why is el presidente Obama doing this to us?", Carlos laments. "I thought he would help the Mexican people. Now we see his true colors", the struggling mechanic says.

While Americans enjoy government checks paid out for turning in their 'clunkers' as a trade in on a more fuel efficient, new vehicle, Mexicans like Carlos and his family are feeling the pinch in lack of used vehicles brought into Mexico. Carlos worries it is only a matter of time before he too is forced to migrate north and try to find a job in the American service industry. Carlos goes back to working on the Chevy truck, mumbling under his breath, " You gringos sure know how to ruin a good thing."