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Community Organization, Migration, and Remittances in Oaxaca

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2022

Leah K. VanWey ,
Catherine M. Tucker  and
Eileen Diaz McConnell
Leah K. VanWey
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Catherine M. Tucker
Affiliation:
Indiana University, Bloomington
Eileen Diaz McConnell
Affiliation:
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
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Abstract

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Researchers studying migration and development have argued over the potential that migration and associated remittances have to improve the economic and social conditions in origin communities. Past research on migration from indigenous communities in Oaxaca has similarly questioned the compatibility of traditional governance systems with high migration rates. We argue, using evidence from four Zapotec communities in rural Oaxaca, that communities can use the organizational capacity of traditional governance systems to access remittances from migrants for the benefit of the community as a whole. Communities can require payment from migrants in lieu of communal labor requirements (tequio) and may directly solicit remittances from migrants for community projects. The extent to which they enforce these requests depends on the existing organizational strength in the community. These findings imply that strong forms of community organization can make the difference between migration contributing to underdevelopment and migration contributing to development.

Resumen

Resumen

Especialistas sobre migración y desarrollo han estudiado el potencial que la migración y sus remesas asociadas brindan al mejoramiento de las condiciones sociales y políticas en las comunidades de origen. Asimismo, estudios previos sobre migración de comunidades indígenas en Oaxaca han cuestionado la compatibilidad de sistemas tradicionales de gobierno y altas tasas de migración. Sobre la base de evidencia de cuatro comunidades zapotecas en la zona rural de Oaxaca, sostenemos que las comunidades pueden utilizar la capacidad institucional de sistemas de gobierno tradicionales para acceder a remesas en favor de la comunidad en general. Las comunidades pueden exigir a los emigrantes pagos en lugar de participar en trabajos comunitarios obligatorios (tequio) y también pueden solicitar remesas a los emigrantes para proyectos comunitarios. El grado hasta el cual las comunidades exigen el cumplimiento de estos requisitos depende de la fuerza organizativa de la comunidad. Los resultados de esta investigación implican que la solidez organizacional puede definir a la migración como beneficiosa o perjudicial para el desarrollo comunitario.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , 2005 , pp. 83 - 107
Copyright
Copyright © 2005 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

∗

Acknowledgements: The authors express thanks to Lilian Marquez-Barrientos and Ever Canul Góngora for their invaluable assistance in the collection of data. They thank the LARR editors and reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions. In addition, they appreciate the similarly valuable comments offered by George Alter, Tim Bartley, Jeffrey Cohen, and Dennis Conway. The research received financial assistance from the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University, as well as the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population and Environmental Change (CIPEC) through a National Science Foundation grant (SBR-952191). Finally, and most importantly, the authors thank the people of the study communities; without their generous assistance and cooperation, this research would not have been possible. All errors and opinions remain the authors'.

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