Circulating Practices: Migration and Translocal Development in Washington D.C. and Cochabamba, Bolivia

Abstract

Migrant remittances are increasingly seen as a potential form of development in the global South, but the impact of international migration on sending regions is far from straightforward. In this article, I analyze migrant communities of origin in rural Bolivia as dynamic places that are constantly reproduced through connections with other places. I document the movement of migrant practices between Washington D.C. and Cochabamba and the influence of monetary and non-monetary flows on Bolivian cultural practices, politics, and development. I demonstrate how hometown associations and returning migrants have transferred organizational practices and political ideas about development from the United States to rural Bolivia. In addition, I explore migration's role in struggles over belonging in Cochabamba, focusing on the efforts by migrants in Washington D.C. to stake their claim through transnational houses and collective remittance projects and on recent internal migration from other regions in Bolivia. Finally, I assess the sustainability of migrant-led development in Cochabamba. Although collaboration with migrants can strengthen the local state by providing more resources, it conditions the type of development that can take place and has yet to provide adequate opportunities for returning migrants or young people in rural Bolivia.

Chapter 10. Trees have Already been Invented: Carbon in Woodlands

“…New forms of capital-from remittances to state transfers-are major elements of rural poverty alleviation, and these have had an impact on forests. Tropical areas are notable for their remittance economies: they receive monies from migrants who send funds home [39,40,148,149,150,151]. About a billion people are migrating, and remittance economies as well as social subsidies like conditional cash transfers (subsidies to poor households for child health and education), pensions, and even proceeds from clandestine economies are shaping land uses.…”

Migration-related land use dynamics in increasingly hybrid peri-urban space: insights from two agricultural communities in Bolivia

“…The Sacaban communities of López Rancho and Molino Blanco provide a novel context for investigating the effect of transnational migration on agricultural practices given their peri-urban location and distinct prerequisites for agricultural improvement. Several previous studies demonstrate the positive impacts of transnational migration on agricultural practices in rural Valle Alto, located outside the Central Valley of Cochabamba in Bolivia (see, e.g., Baby-Collin et al 2008; de la Torre Ávila 2006; de la Torre Ávila and Alfaro Aramayo 2007; Strunk 2013; Yarnall and Price 2010). Less has been written about the agricultural communities that are in close proximity to the major cities of Cochabamba and Sacaba (see Ledo 2012; Umbarila et al 2015).…”

Spatial Distribution of Migration and Economic Development: A Case Study of Sichuan Province, China

“…With an increase of return migration, the studies have attracted attention [16][17][18][19]. Other studies have focused on return migration and the effects of migrants' remittances on their hometowns [6,20,21]. However, research scales have been mainly at the province level [9,22,23].…”