Transnational Migration in Rural Oaxaca, Mexico: Dependency, Development, and the Household

Abstract

Contradictory models of dependency and development have dominated the discussion of migration between Mexico and the United States. Transnational models of migration resolve these contradictions by defining a series of interdependencies (economy and society, for example). Using data collected in a rural Zapotec community in Oaxaca, Mexico, this article focuses on three areas: the stage‐specific development of transnational movement; the domestic cycle, household decision making, and migration/remittance outcomes; and the changing nature of community participation. Rooting the discussion in household decision making captures the important role local social variability and economic dynamism play in understanding transnational processes and advancing migration studies. [households, migration, transnationalism, dependency and development, Oaxaca, Mexico]

Family Members’ Transnational Migration, Community Contexts, and Psychological Distress in Mexican Families

“…People make migration decisions in the contexts of family and community (Cohen, 2001;Conway & Cohen, 2003). Migration to the U.S. is more common in some Mexican communities than in others (Kandel & Massey, 2002;Heymann et al, 2009), which could influence psychological distress among family members remaining in Mexico.…”

“…Decisions to migrate to the U.S. are made within sending community contexts (Cohen, 2001;Conway & Cohen, 2003 in Mexico than in others; in some areas, community members are expected to migrate to the U.S. to send remittances (de Snyder, Diaz-Perez, Acevedo, & Natera, 1996;Taylor, Moran-Taylor, & Ruiz, 2006;Wilkerson, Yamawaki, & Downs, 2009). Sending communities rely on remittances to sustain their economy and reinforce the expectation of contributing to the economic well-being of family and community through transnational migration (Castaneda & Buck, 2011;Martone et al, 2011;Zentgraf & Chinchilla, 2012).…”

Actividades productivas y migración internacional de retorno: los panaderos de San Miguel Coatlán, Oaxaca

“…Los que migraron después de 2000 incluyeron Oregon y Los Ángeles como lugares de destino. A diferencia de los zapotecos del Centro y de la Sierra norte de Oaxaca que poseen una historia migratoria más extendida y que laboran en servicios del medio urbano (Hulshof, 1991;Cohen, 2001;Fox y Rivera, 2004;López y Runsten, 2004), los de San Miguel tienen baja escolaridad, son indocumentados y trabajan en la limpieza, en el cuidado de animales -vacas, cerdos, pollos, caballos-, en hipódromos, en labores agrí-colas -cultivo de naranja, manzana, pera, aguacate, tomate-, en carpintería, jardinería, construcción de casas y plomería. Teóricamente, el tipo de empleos, la escolaridad y la documentación de que dispone el migrante limitan la naturaleza y calidad de los ahorros, habilidades y conocimientos potencialmente adquiribles en el exterior (Dustman y Kirchamp, 2001;Athukorala, 1990;Papail, 2003).…”

Lost in Transnational Space? Migrant Farm Workers in Rural Districts

“…There are numerous studies in the US literature on transnationalism among Mexicans, of whom many work on American farms (such as. Zúñiga and Hernández-León 2005, Durand and Massey 2004, Cohen 2001), but far less has been written on transnationalism in rural Europe. Among other things, this probably reflects the relatively insignificant role of agriculture in the EU economy (Labrianidis and Sykas 2009).…”