Family, Work, and Migration: Transborder Networking among Tlapanecs from La Montaña

Abstract

Within the last decade, members of indigenous Tlapanec households in Guerrero, Mexico have increasingly participated in network migration between La Montaña and the United States for job opportunities. Social networking and family-based social capital are highly important for Tlapanecs in Guerrero. For non-English speaking Tlapanecs who migrate to the US, networking among family members remains highly important. Through participant observation and bibliographic research conducted during 2008, this thesis examines household networking strategies in the sending community and in migration to the US to explore some of the potential effects of migration on family ties among Tlapanecs in La Montaña . While the new ties created abroad, individual agency, the length of time away, and other circumstantial variations may lead to less locally available networking opportunities, migration often serves as a form of socio-economic mobility for households in the sending community, and may serve as a form of development for the community as a whole.