Local dynamics in multi-local, transnational spaces of rural Mexico: Oaxacan experiences
Conway, D.; Cohen, J.H.
International Journal of Population Geography 9(2): 141-161
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 1077-3495 DOI: 10.1002/ijpg.282Document Number: 248960
Mexico's proximity to the United States, the two economies' increased integration, and the demand for low-cost labour in el norte, has fuelled a transnational circulation of people that is most probably self-perpetuating and is certainly firmly embedded. This investigation of local dynamics in the multi-local transnational spaces of Oaxacan households draws upon a comprehensive set of sample surveys conducted in 12 municipios in the central valleys of Oaxaca over a six-year period. We frame our Oaxaca empirical findings within two constructs developed by the authors. One is a typology of circulation behaviours differentiated by scale of interactive systems of mobility and by behavioural intentions; the other is a household migration and remittance framework that highlights the wide variations in the patterns of investment of remittances by recipient households. Extending these frameworks, we use village- and family-level evidence to demonstrate the crucial significance of local contexts for determining household strategies of migration and remittance investment. What is most apparent from our Oaxacan biographies is, firstly, the wide range of experiences that are present both within and between the various communities; secondly, the strategic use of local circuit moves in concert with national and international (or transnational) sojourns; and thirdly, the various positive and negative impacts of migration and remittance investment that range from self-aggrandisement to community investment. Our analysis concludes that local space is an essential contextual anchor, and the evolving nature of household migration decision-making is in large part determined, or at least significantly influenced, by the spatial nature of the social linkages between people, their households/families, and their local, regional, national and transnational contexts.