Virus cases top 120 in Juárez, at least 13 of 29 deaths tied to maquiladora factories

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Juárez topped 120 on Monday, with officials saying nearly half of those infected are hospitalized.

Of the 121 cases Monday, health leaders said 29 of those resulted in deaths; the death toll was unchanged from over the weekend. As many as 13 of those deaths are believed to be maquiladora factory workers, and that number could be higher, health officials acknowledged.

At least “several” of the deaths were employees at a Lear Corporation plant in Juárez that makes auto parts, according to a statement from the company.

Lear, a Fortune 500 company based in Michigan, with $21 billion in sales in 2018, has repeatedly declined to provide an exact number of employees who have died or been sickened by Covid-19.

“We are saddened that several employees at our Juárez City operations, who were receiving-medical treatment for presumed cases of Covid-19, have passed away due to complications of respiratory illness…” according to a statement issued by the company last week.

Under Chihuahua state guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19, only those factories doing “essential” work are allowed to remain open in Juárez.  Lear stopped operations on April 1.

“He was doing his job and now his life is at risk,” said Monica Rosales, whose 57-year-old father, Raul Rosales, is clinging to life in an El Paso hospital. He was a quality control supervisor at Lear before testing positive for the virus.

“He’s not breathing by himself. He’s with a ventilator. He’s very sick,” Monica Rosales said in an interview with El Paso Matters about her father.

She’s among a growing number of people who believe her father’s employer did not do enough to help workers stay safe. The role of Lear and other multinational manufacturers in the spread of the virus in Juárez has come under increasing scrutiny as the death toll mounts in the border city.

Susana Prieto, an attorney and labor rights activist who works with maquiladora employees, told El Paso Matters that “Mexican workers are traveling on a death train.”

“Those who’ve lost loved ones to Covid-19 should demand companies take responsibility,” Prieto said.