Effects of Migration on Oaxacan Communities

Introduction

     I first became interested in migration while at UVM. Last semester I joined a club called Juntos which is a student run volunteer program that provides outreach to migrant workers in the Chittenden, Franklin, and Addison Counties of Vermont. It is the goal of Juntos to foster positive relationships through courses in ESL and through the transportation of the migrant workers. I began to learn a lot about the Mexican migrant community in Vermont and wanted to research the situation on the other side of the border. My focus in Oaxaca is directly tied to the strong communities here and how the loss of people from these communities due to migration affects its structure and individuals' responsibilities to the community. 

     People have been migrating to the United States from Mexico for many years in search of work and money to send back to their families. My independent project is focused on migration from the state of Oaxaca to the United States because I want to find out how this migration is affecting communities in order to understand how it affects relations and responsibilities of indigenous communities in Oaxaca. To find this out I began with the question: How does migration from indigenous Oaxacan villages to the U.S. affect community relations?

Research Timeline 

1. Narrowed down my guiding question, January

• Began preliminary research about migration in Mexico using the internet

2. Visited Santa Ana del Valle, last weekend in January

• Discussed and learned about the system of usos y costumbres with a woman active in the community

3. Read articles and discussed migration in Oaxaca, first week in February

• Began to understand the different policies around migration, as well as different opinions and got to discuss them with my peers  

4. Read the book: Transborder Lives by Lynn Stephen, February

• Gained a lot of knowledge about people’s experiences migrating and the many effects migration has on their lives  

5. Spent a week in Teotitlán del Valle, last week in February

• Interviewed 2 men who had migrated before, one legally, one illegally to learn their stories and understand their opinions as well as to see how migration affects cargo and tequio responsibilities in a town and how the community handles structure when people leave the community
• Saw firsthand community structure in the indigenous communities of Oaxaca
• Spoke with others that I met about their opinions on migration

6. Compiled my findings and presented it and educated my peers, April

• I gained a lot from presenting because it gave me the chance to discuss what I had learned with others and I learned even more from discussing it with them

Migration: What’s happening?

     The Mexico-U.S. border is the most frequently crossed international border in the world. The current wave of migration from Mexico to the U.S. began in the 1980s, largely contributed to the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA). A main aspect of the IRCA was that it granted amnesty to immigrants who had had continuous residency in the U.S. for at least three years. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) put into affect in 1994, also had a huge effect on immigration. NAFTA eliminated tariffs on imported and exported goods. NAFTA also led to the importation of subsidized corn from the U.S. Because of the U.S. subsidies on corn it was much less expensive than Mexican grown corn. That made it, and continues to make it, extremely difficult for small Mexican farmers to make a living. Many small towns in Oaxaca and Mexico as a whole  make their living by farming, however large percentages of these towns have had to migrate to find work. NAFTA also threatened a lot of the gains rural Mexican communities and farmers had made in the past century, including the communal land holdings of many indigenous communities. It made life harder for poor Mexicans by forcing migration to the U.S. Opposers to NAFTA argue that its effects have undermined local economies in Mexico with the influx of American corporations which forces people to move north as well. (The picture to the right is a depiction of the effects of NAFTA and how it caused the entrance of large multi-national corporations into Mexico) 

     The people who are migrating are usually young, strong, men, although women do go also. People migrate in search of work, for money to send back to their families and improve their lives in Mexico. The economic pressure pushing Oaxacans to migrate is extremely high. Seventy-six percent of Oaxaca’s 3.8 million residents are living in poverty (Miller, 2011). Poverty is determined by the minimum cost of living in Mexico, which is 1,586.34 Mexican Pesos per month per household member. The money migrants send back to their families and communities is called remittances. These remittances mean the difference of having food on the table or not, they are extremely important to the lives of Oaxacans and Mexicans as a whole. Remittances are Mexico’s 2nd biggest money maker after oil, migration is crucial to the Mexican economy. In 2011, Oaxaca received 1.4 billion U.S. dollars in remittances, sixth most out of all Mexican states (Froehling). 

     There are many risks that accompany migration and life is not always so great in the U.S. Migrating is expensive, dangerous, and emotionally taxing. In 1993, President Bill Clinton made the decision to build the first wall between the U.S. and Mexico, each year since then crossing the border has become more expensive and more dangerous (Froehling). There are risks of being taken advantage of on the journey north, coming across dangerous political situations, being the victim of robberies along with other risks. There are also risks once already in the U.S. If you are there illegally deportation is a huge threat. Some people will live in the U.S. for several years, start a family, have a steady job and then get deported, leaving their life and family behind. Even though people are able to make more money in the U.S., life is not necessarily easier.

What is it like in the U.S.? 

     Approximately 250,000 Oaxacans migrate north to the U.S. each year, about 1.5 million Oaxacans live in the United States. Most Oaxacans migrate to California, it is estimated that over 500,000 Oaxacans are living in California, many are also living in Oregon. 

     When major migration to the United States began more than a century ago, the people, mostly from Europe, were coming to create a new life in America and integrate into U.S. society and culture. Now, the Mexicans that migrate to the U.S. are going to make money for a few years and then come back to their communities and families in Mexico, it does not always work out like that though. Many people end up staying for much longer but they are not intending to do so, so they do not integrate into American society. There are often clumps of Mexicans in certain areas of the country or people from communities in Mexico that form their own mini communities in the United States. People often travel to the same place where they have family or friends or where they know migrants can get work and they will have a place to stay. Because there are such high concentrations of Mexicans in the United States it is very easy to live the same life a person had in Mexico, just in the United States. 

     The U.S. is becoming divided between traditional American dream communities of people from different backgrounds that formed new mixed communities and concentrations of Hispanic people. Those concentrations can cause a lot of tension between Americans and migrants. I have witnessed people in the United States having skewed views of who these migrants are and why they have come to the U.S. There are many people that believe Mexican migrants are stealing jobs from Americans and that they do not give back to the community. However, the truth is that these migrants are working the difficult, long hour jobs that even unemployed Americans refuse. Mexican migrants are the backbone of the U.S. economy.

What is community structure like in Oaxaca?

     Community structure is very strong in indigenous towns in Oaxaca. It is a distinct system and is very important to indigenous traditions. Each town has a slightly different structure. The system is called usos y costumbres where there is a communal government that makes up the main decision making entity. Political parties do not participate directly with local elections, all local officials are elected in community assemblies. It is an officially recognized and accepted form of government in the state of Oaxaca as 412 of the 570 municipalities use the system. In Teotitlán del Valle each individual household must provide a cargo service about every three years (Stephen, 2007). Cargo services are done by household while each individual must take part in tequio starting at age eighteen usually for fifteen years. In Teotitlán, people are usually called upon to complete 3 to 5 days of tequio volunteer service a year. Men are generally assigned jobs that incorporate some form of physical labor while women generally complete a service like cooking for an event, cleaning, or working in the schools. 

     In some communities tequio responsibilities are for a consecutive fifteen years, in others it is any fifteen years of life and you can choose when you complete your responsibilities. All jobs are unpaid and work to better the community whether it be physical labor or serving in a local government position, I met one man in Teotitlán that was completely his duty by working in the town's museum for 2 years. The cargo system is done in steps, the higher up you go the more responsibility you are given. You are not necessarily happier as you go up the ladder because you must devote more unpaid time to the community (Froehling). However, if you complete your cargo successfully you gain a lot of trust and respect from other community members, so there is a reward in that sense. 

     I spoke with Dahlia, the woman who I stayed with on our trip to Santa Ana del Valle a little about usos y costumbres there. She was very intelligent, had at least four children ranging in age from about three years old to around twelve, and her husband had spent a number of years working in the United States and sending money back to the community. She alluded to the fact that she did not support the system in full. She said that it was unfortunate that all the work was unpaid, she had spent most of her adult life performing her tequio duties, in the schools and other areas of the community, she is now around age 40 and is almost done with her responsibilities but now she has children to take care of and a household to maintain on the little money that she has been able to save. Dahlia told us to really cherish the opportunities we have been given to study and travel pretty much as we please, at least for now. She said she sometimes she feels trapped, Santa Ana has become much more connected to the rest of Oaxaca and the world but it is very difficult to travel or study anywhere else. She said she sometimes wishes that some of the work she did was paid or there were ways for her to make money so she could travel or her children could get higher educations. She believes that usos y costumbres is a good system to run a community, however today, now that the world, Oaxaca, and Santa Ana are much more interconnected she feels that it may not be the best way to govern the town anymore. 

The Question of Forced Migration   

     The article, Immigration and the Right to Stay Home (Bacon, 2008), expressed the feeling of forced migration. The people who are migrating do not view it as a choice, it is a necessity. Remittances do not just help out a poor family they are its main source of income, without them they would not be able to eat. One reason discussed as to why they do not have the choice not to migrate, is the lack of economic development in Mexico and especially in poor communities. Although they do not go into depth about what ‘economic development’ means they discuss how the government does not have any system to support the poor and poor people do not have the means or resources to call for the change that is needed. The Mexican government is pressured by their loan conditions from the U.S. and World Bank. That pressure as resulted in cuts on spending that was originally intended to raise rural incomes. The government does not have the money to start projects to support the poor. Rural living standards need to be raised so migration becomes a choice. Communities are unable to enact their own development projects because they lack money and community members to do so. 

     For migrants that I spoke with this is certainly the case. They do not want to leave their families and communities, but they have no other choice. There is no way to make enough money to support a life and family where they are. 

Migration in Teotitlán del Valle

     People from Teotitlán have been migrating regionally and to the U.S. for many years. Major migration of Teotitecos to the U.S. began with the Bracero Program which lasted from the 1940s to 1964. The bracero program was enacted during World War II to bring in temporary workers from Mexico to fill the absences of American workers that were off fighting in the war. Teotitlán is a transborder community. Teotitlán’s main source of economic income is remittances and money earned from selling woven textiles. (Stephen, 2007) 

The week I spent in Teotitlán del Valle with the weaving cooperative, Bii Daüü, gave me a lot of insight into indigenous peoples' lives and community structure and the importance of community. Everyone in the cooperative had had an experience with migration and they were more than willing to offer their opinions, stories and knowledge. 

Interview with Horacio:

     Horacio and his wife live right across from the entrance to the church in Teotitlán del Valle. The front of their home is also a store where they sell beautiful tapetes, bolsas, and other woven items. Horacio welcomed me into a side room across from two huge looms and an open courtyard where his 5 year old son, David, was playing. The room is kind of dark even after Horacio turned on the light. At one end there is something that seems to be a sort of shrine: a large photo or painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe with candles and flowers on the table in front of her, at the other end of the room are a couple of armoires that store various things. Horacio pulls two chairs out from a large table in the middle of the room (that is covered in backpacks and other luggage). We sit across from one another and I ask him about his experience with migration. 

     He has travelled to Vancouver, Canada four times since 2008 to work picking blueberries, 4 months at a time. While there he lives in a small city right across the border from Seattle. He works 85 hours a week, sometimes more. Most days he works nonstop from 7AM until 9PM (with one half hour break for lunch) and then Friday nights he gets an hour to go buy himself food, however sometimes he is denied that hour. He described a kind Canadian woman, a retired teacher who actually knows a little bit of spanish, that would bring him food or go shopping for him on those Fridays he was denied his break. If not for her, he says he would not have eaten. 

     Although we do not converse in English for the near hour we talk, he tells me he does know a little English just from working in Canada and he practices sometimes with tourists who come to his store. He says the work in Canada isn’t bad, just his patrones (bosses) are bad. They are from India and no matter how hard Horacio worked they demanded more. He says they think differently than the Canadians and Americans, they are bad people but the work he does isn’t so bad. He tells me that it is difficult to live away from his family and difficult to shop in Canada because all the food is in English and French, no Spanish. All the types of food they sell is different as well so he doesn’t recognize pictures.      Although he doesn’t mind the work of picking blueberries he much prefers his life in Teotitlán and making tapetes. When I asked if it was difficult to travel to Canada, Horacio went and got his papers to show me and described the agreement between the Mexican and the Canadian government that sends Mexicans to work in Canada for 4 months. He said that going to Canada is still hard but a little easier than going to the U.S. He also showed me the record of how much money he made and how many taxes were taken out. He discussed that he sent money back to his wife eight times during the four months. He did so using Western Union which has a good money sending system to Mexico, they charge from 10-12 Canadian dollars to send an amount of money. They used to only send to banks in Oaxaca City but now they send it to the bank in Teotitlán so his wife doesn’t need to take the extra time and money to go pick up the money in the city. 

     Also included in his papers was a report of his time there where his patron had written: “VERY HARD WORKING” which is great for Horacio. He hopes this good review of his work will help him get another visa in the future, hopefully to work or sell his tapetes in Vancouver. I asked him if he wanted to return to Canada and what his thoughts were about people returning to Teotitlán if they have left to work. The first thing he says is that his son doesn’t want him to go and points to David playing in the courtyard (who wears a black and red baseball cap that reads: “Canada”). He thinks most people go to work in a different country with the intention of returning to Teotitlán to continue their lives there. However, he said that when young people go to other countries to study or work they return and don’t like Teotitlán anymore. They think differently and end up returning to the other place to live and then the whole family goes. There are a lot of empty houses in Teotitlán. 

     Usos y costumbres was the next thing I asked him about, he said it is not too difficult for him because his wife is still in Teotitlán and she can complete the cargo, but he says that if he has a tequio to do he pays someone, anyone, in the community to complete the job for him. He usually pays them one hundred pesos.

     With the money he earned in Canada he has been able to paint his house, he points to the ceiling and says it was not white before he went then he points to the nice, sliding glass windows and doors that he says he was able to put in after he returned. I then ask him if he wants to tell me more, I express my curiosity and explain that I’m in a club called Juntos. He then gives me his address and contact information so I could find out what office he could go through to possibly work in Vermont someday. As we’re ending our conversation and walking into the courtyard he points up to where they are building more rooms - also with money he earned in Canada - they need to be finished by July because his friends from Vancouver, including the woman who would bring him food, are coming to visit. 

Interview with Antonio:  

     I’m sitting on a bench outside in the courtyard of his house while his wife cooks pericón for their dyes for their tapetes (yellow) and cooks what I think is corn in another pot on an open fire. It’s smokey and warm and the night sky is clear above us. His daughter and other family members are there too, grinding ingredients for tejate and doing various other tasks. He talks to me while he carves a dried peach pit into a little basket on a braided string which he’ll give to me when we’re done talking. He begins telling me when he first went to the United States, illegally with whom I think is his brother-in-law, also there in the large courtyard. They all break into Zapotec periodically to discuss dates and facts of the story and their lives. 

     They first went to the U.S. in 1983 when Antonio was 26. He explains the process saying he first went through across the desert where the coyote left them, telling them it was only a few hours to where they were going, giving them a gallon of water and a packet of tortillas for which turned out to be 4 days and 3 nights of walking through the desert. He did not stay long in the U.S. that time. But he returned to the U.S. in 1999 until 2002 illegally again, this time through Tijuana where a similar thing happened - he was told it was a short distance to the other side however it was 3 days and 2 nights walking through dangerous areas. He spent time in California: Santa Ana, Oxnard, and as far north as Scratton. He worked in nurseries, growing lilies for Easter from 7AM until 4PM then he cooks hamburgers until 1AM and then did it all over again everyday of the week. I ask him if he ever wanted to stay in the U.S. and he said yes. At first he told his wife to come with their children who were young at the time (their daughter is getting married next month), she said no. Antonio sent money back through ATMs/checking accounts - his wife had to go to the Centro to pick it up. But with that money is how he built his house in Teotitlán: the rooms, doors, how he bought his car, and at least 3 looms that they make their beautiful tapetes with. He went to the U.S. to make a better life for himself and his family in Teotitlán.

     Antonio and his wife do have one son who lives in Ventura, CA now with two kids who were born there. He went to work then married an American and planned to return home but doesn’t have enough money - it costs a lot of money to travel back to Mexico. He tells me that that happens to many people. He went to the U.S. thinking he might stay but says now that he doesn’t want to go back. He thinks a lot of the dangers that come from crossing the border. He explains that those dangers are because of both U.S. and Mexican laws. He tells me that there are good people who help the undocumented workers and bad people that kill or try to kill them. If anything were to change with migration he says it would have to be a change in both the countries’ laws. There’s the problem of so much unemployment in Mexico but he says he does kind of understand the laws in the U.S. because there are many people there and they need to control that. 

     I asked him if he learned English while in the U.S. and a little about his life there. He said that he worked so much he really didn’t have time to learn and it’s hard because people there don’t really speak Spanish - it was hard to make friends because of communication barriers. I then asked him about life back in Teotitlán. He said it was very hard to live far away from his family, that was one reason he wanted to return home. He didn’t seem too concerned with the effect migration has on usos y costumbres. He says people return when they have a large responsibility in the municipal government or something, but that doesn’t happen often. And most people who leave only go seasonally so they return each year and can complete their tequio commitments and the family can help with the cargo. Or something that is getting more and more popular is paying someone, in your family or group of friends or anyone that is still in the town to complete your commitment for you - that’s very common and accepted. He tells me that most people return - they go to the U.S. to make money to improve their lives in Teotitlán. 

Returning to Your Pueblo 

      Most people do return to their towns after spending time and earning money in the U.S. They have missed their life back home and are glad to be back with their family, friends, and familiar community. However, many people told me that sometimes when young people migrate to the U.S. it is different. They go to the U.S., work there for several years and then return to Teotitlán, but they have accumulated experiences while in the U.S. and start to incorporate U.S. racial, ethnic, and class hierarchies into the way they think about their own community and into the way they construct their own self-identities. Governance and community structure and even just the views of people toward gender, work ethic, and culture is very different in the U.S. than in Oaxaca. Experiences in the U.S. begin to affect how people who return to Teotitlán or other towns view their home communities in Oaxaca in larger national and international contexts. That kind of change alters the dynamic in a town and can cause changes in the government system and less commitment to the traditional ways of community. 

So what? Are things going to change? Should we do something about it? - Reflections and Discoveries 

When talking with migrants and others about the migration, they do not think migration to the U.S. will stop, they agree that migration is necessary and will continue unless there are major changes in the economic system of Mexico, and the U.S. It is admitted that things should change, migration should not be as difficult, expensive or dangerous and should certainly not feel forced. That is a problem of policy and the dangers present in Northern Mexico today as well as attitudes toward migrants in the U.S. 

While being in Mexico my perspective of migration and Mexicans as a people has changed greatly. I spoke with my mom about the migrants in Vermont after she and my dad came to visit me in Oaxaca. Now, back in Vermont, she told me she sees them more as real people, can imagine their lives in Mexico, what they left behind, and what their lives are now like in the U.S. She can also understand how difficult it is being in a country where you do not understand the language and how scary that is. She realizes they are not in the U.S. to steal our jobs, they miss their lives back home and are risking everything to have a better life for their families. 

One thing that surprised me the most during my research is that the people who migrate to the U.S. are not going to make a life there, they are going to make money because they cannot make it in Mexico. They want to earn money and then return as soon as possible to their town to support their family and make life better there. I had never been aware of how connected the people remain to their communities. I had always thought they came to the U.S. to have a better life, which in a way they do, but it is not the better life we think of, they want a better life in Mexico. They are proud to be Mexican and do not want to become American, they just have to use what the U.S. has to offer to improve their lives as Mexicans.

From working with Juntos I have learned about the important role the Mexican migrant workers play in Vermont's economy and that without them the state would not have a dairy industry. Workers from Mexico tend to do the physically difficult work, with the longest hours and harshest conditions. They perform jobs that others do not want to, but jobs, for example, in the farming industry are crucial to the U.S.'s success and existence. However, before this investigation I didn't realize the importance of the money earned in the U.S. to the Mexican economy as well. I never knew remittances played such a big role to so many in Mexico. Although the migration situation is causing hardship, breaking communities and endangering people as well as putting extra stress on governments, it is necessary to both the economies of the U.S. and Mexico. It is difficult to formulate a clear opinion about the complex situation that is migration from Mexico to the U.S. however, I plan to do whatever I can to help the migrant farm workers in my community through Juntos. I have learned a lot about the importance of community from this trip and I want to offer my support to the hardworking people in my own community.

My Own Quality Indicator:

     The question I posed in the beginning definitely changed as I investigated and explored the topic of migration. I would give myself a 9.5 out of 10 because I really think I learned more than I thought I would and created relationships and changed my own perspectives through putting myself out there with my questions and curiosity. The only thing I wish I had done more of was interviews, the few I did were incredibly rewarding to my knowledge of migration and my spanish as well as my relations with native Oaxacans, especially how close I feel with people in Teotitlán. 

     I set out to discover something I could take back to the States with me, I was driven by my involvement with Juntos and my desire to spread awareness and knowledge about migrants in Vermont and Oaxaca as well as the situation as a whole. I believe I really achieved this by sparking interest in so many of my peers who now want to join Juntos and were so engaged during my presentation. Although I was a little unsure about what to expect with my presentation, it was an extremely rewarding experience as well. I got to discuss all the things I care about and spent 3 and a half months learning about with my peers. I feel like I was able to teach them and I learned so much as well. The whole project was a very stimulating experience and has made me just want to learn and discover more. 

References 

Bacon, D. (2008, July 24). Immigration and the right to stay home. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/story/92639/immigration_and_the_right_to_stay_home

Froehling, O.

2012 In-class discussion. 2/13/12, University of Vermont Oaxaca Semester Abroad Program

Migrants' new paths reshaping Latin America. (2012, January 5). New York Times

Miller, T. (2011, October 13). Migration in Oaxaca. 

Retrieved from https://nacla.org/blog/2011/10/13/photo-essay-migration-oaxaca

Stephen, L. (2007). Transborder lives . Durham, NC: Duke University Press.