Migration and agrarian transformation in Indigenous Mexico

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.

Collective Action Dilemma after China’s Forest Tenure Reform: Operationalizing Forest Devolution in a Rapidly Changing Society

“…Our findings are based on certain key conditions such as economic development and outmigration driven by external forces, labor and capital intensive timber production mode, and small per capita forestland holdings; therefore, our findings are very likely to be valid for communities with these conditions. Studies have shown that the limited dependence on forest income reduces farmers' incentives to make forest investments [3], and that large-scale outmigration hinders the collective actions of managing resources in rural communities [20,56]. These findings indicate that the problem manifested by our case also exists in other regions of China and the world.…”

Indigenous Communities, Migrant Organizations, and the Ephemeral Nature of Translocality

“…This study offers some important caveats in response, showing that many firstgeneration migrants resist (equitably) sharing collective work obligations with village residents. Tension between residents, who disproportionately meet the burden of village governance, and migrants who want to limit their contributions, provides further evidence of incongruence between individual and collective rationalities in Oaxacan commons regimes (Stephen 2007;Gutierrez Najera 2009;Robson et al 2018). While migration cannot be considered the only disrupting force at play, the research presented here suggests that the migratory experience remains significant.…”

“…Research is also needed to identify the evolving (and likely divergent) views of those living in their communities of origin, with regards to traditional governance, terms of membership, and shifting power relations within the community sphere. This would help to properly contextualize the role that migration and the migratory experience might be playing in disrupting structures of communal service and identity (Robson et al 2018), particularly in conjunction with broader changes (in village culture, economy, politics, and environment) affecting remote and rural communities (Van de Ploeg 2008;Berdegué, Rosada, and Bebbington 2014;Davidson-Hunt et al 2016).…”

“…As resident populations contract, there has been concern about the "vitality of [these] communities to staff offices and deliver basic services, maintain and improve infrastructure, maintain law and order, and preserve communal ceremonial and religious life and identities" (Kearney and Besserer 2004, 453). Although Oaxacan wage labor migration has fallen dramatically in recent years (Passel, Cohn, and Gonzalez-Barrera 2012;Cohen 2016), village populations have not rebounded (Bada and Feldmann 2016;INEGI census data, 2000INEGI census data, -2015 and recent reports show that local governance structures remain under pressure, especially in communities with small resident populations (Hernández-Díaz 2013;Robson et al 2018).…”

Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Community Forest Management: Evolution and Limitations in Mexican Forest Law, Policy and Practice

“…These new dynamics include increased schooling, migration and remittance economies, non-agricultural waged activities, government funded conditional cash transfers [200,201], often coupled with dwindling agricultural subsidies [199], and the presence of conservation funding [202]. All in all, the decline of land-based livelihoods, increased schooling and migration are associated with demographic and cultural change [203] and TEK loss [135,204,205], all of which challenges and reshapes communal governance [206].…”