‘Con nuestro propio esfuerzo’: Understanding the Relationships between International Migration and the Environment in Guatemala

Abstract

International migration from rural areas affects the environment in numerous and complex ways. The inflow of economic and social remittances changes production and consumption patterns, social relations, and social and economic institutions in the places of origin of migrants. In this case study, I discuss how migration is pushing a local process of land redistribution in Guatemala. Such a process is also changing patterns of land use and land cover. The process is influenced by the emergence of local cooperatives, which in turn are stimulated by organizations and networks in wider temporal and spatial contexts. Land acquisition by migrant families has also improved their position vis-à-vis traditional landowners. My study suggests that in contexts where local organization is successful and linked to actors and networks at wider scales, transnational households are in a good position to negotiate the outcomes of the use of remittances. These families are improving their living standards without degrading the environment irreversibly.

Agriculture, Land Tenure and International Migration in RuralGuatemala

“…In the aftermath of the coffee crisis in the 2000s (Eakin et al. ), coffee producers in Guatemala faced serious economic losses and some of the larger coffee producer families in Santa Teresa were forced to sell part of their lands (Aguilar‐Støen ). Families with migrants working abroad, supported with loans and credit by the local cooperative, purchased some of these plots of land during the coffee crisis.…”

“…Furthermore, migrant households and migrants living in the US maintain close links with the cooperative in Santa Teresa. The high rate of membership in Santa Teresa's cooperative might be explained by the fact that the cooperative is a community‐led initiative offering diverse services including credit, savings and money transfers from the US, but also support to agricultural activities such as coffee commercialization and agricultural training (see Aguilar‐Støen ). The cooperatives at the other study sites offer transfer of remittances from the US as well, but do not have links with agricultural production.…”

“…The local cooperative increased its involvement and operation in money transfers from the US when the public agricultural credit system collapsed and the ‘Bancafe’ private bank went bankrupt in the 2000s (Aguilar‐Støen ). The restructuring and privatization of public agricultural credit institutions, which were part of the neo‐liberal reforms implemented in the 1990s (Gwynne and Kay ; Segovia ), contributed to securing the position of the cooperative as a local actor in providing credit to small‐scale farmers.…”

“…Remittances from migrants have also helped strengthen the cooperative, allowing it to increase its lending capacity. The local cooperative has, since 2006, been involved in transferring remittances from the US to Santa Teresa thanks to its alliances with two Guatemalan banks and a network of money transfer operators abroad (Aguilar‐Støen ). Additionally, the cooperative facilitates land purchases that migrant households make.…”

Inducing Development: Social Remittances and the Expansion of Oil Palm

“…In contrast to the growing literature on the environmental implications of monetary remittances, fewer studies have specifically explored the role of social remittances in influencing land‐use decision and change ( e.g., Moran‐Taylor and Taylor, ; Aguilar‐Stöen, ). Findings have been mixed, with social remittances viewed as either the spark that inspires sustainable living standards or as mere ideas that rarely translate into concrete action benefitting the environment.…”