Migration and agrarian transformation in Indigenous Mexico. (4th October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Robson, James; Klooster, Daniel; Worthen, Holly; Hernández‐Díaz, Jorge
• Is Part Of: Journal of agrarian change. Volume 18:Number 2(2018:Apr.)
• Page Start: 299
• Page End: 323
• Publication Date: 2017-10-04
• Subjects: comunalidad -- Indigenous -- Mexico -- migration -- territory; Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Periodicals -- History; Land tenure -- Periodicals; Land reform -- Periodicals; 338.1
• DOI: 10.1111/joac.12224
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-0358

Abstract

Abstract: Migration is of particular concern to Indigenous peoples and communities. It physically separates those who migrate from the land upon which collective processes of labour and ritual practice are often based, it affects congruence between individual and collective rationality (as migrants make the choice to maintain or relinquish community membership), and it robs communities of the adult residents who can be essential for projects of collective action. Using the concept of comunalidad, created by Indigenous intellectuals in Oaxaca, Mexico to analyse the importance of alternative practices surrounding land, labour, governance, and ritual found in the region, we show that while Indigenous villages are profoundly affected by different forms of migration, migration itself is not necessarily a "death knell" for Indigenous peasants. We argue that communities struggle—often successfully—to find ways to evolve and reconfigure themselves economically and politically, incorporating migration into the fabric of their daily lives and organizational structures. To make this argument, we draw on ethnographic research conducted with Indigenous Oaxacan transnational communities, both in the United States and Mexico.