Transcript The Cultural Roots of Latin American Populism

Historical Roots of Migration
in the Age of Globalization
Cynthia Radding
University of New Mexico
Region XIII Diaconate Community
25th Annual Conference in Gallup, New Mexico
July 27-29, 2007
Continental Borderlands

Migratory streams

Borderlands before the nation-state

Movements of native peoples through
deserts, mountains and wetlands
Casas Grandes, Paquimé
Photograph: Xicotencatl Murrieta
European Invasions of the Americas

Immigrants, slave and free

New plants, animals, and
microbes

Colonial institutions

Adaptation to natural
environment and to Indians’
cultural traditions
th
19 -Century

Wars for Independence

Anglo-American traders,
trappers and adenturers

North-to-south migratory
flows

Borderlands networks of
kinship and cultural ties
Transitions
Mapping the Borderlands

U.S. invasion of
Mexico

Treaty of GuadalupeHidalgo

Boundary Commission

Treaty of Mesilla
Migration in Historical Context

Migratory flows to and from Latin America

Diverse populations

Globalization and migration

Cultural identity, citizenship, and nationalism
Mexico and the U.S.: 1820-1920

Migration is not restricted to the border region

Migration issues understood within larger
national and international histories

Seasonal and permanent migrations
Mexico in the





Internal Struggles
Church-state relations
Regional autonomy vs.
the central state
Communal lands
Colonists in Chihuahua
th
19
Century

Foreign Invasions

United States, 1846-1854



Loss of territory
Binational boundary
France, 1862-1867


Hapsburg monarchy
French troops
Modernization in Mexico

Capital growth and
technology





Railroads, telegraph
Industrial mining
Timber concessions
Commercial agriculture
President Porfirio Díaz

Population growth and
immigration

Immigrants from Europe,
Middle East and China

Colonies in northern
Mexico
Mexican Revolution
Principal Movements

Constitutionalists




División del Norte


Carranza
Obregón
Calles
Villa
Plan de Ayala

Emiliano Zapata
Orozco, La Trinchera
Past Meets the Present: 1920-2000
Parallel histories of Mexico and the United States





World Wars and Great Depression
Structural changes in world finances
Mexico: agrarian reforms and labor policies
Bracero program, 1943-1968
Assembly plants (maquiladoras)
Mexican Revolution on the Border


Recruitment, provisions
and weaponry for the
principal armies
Migration in Mexico and
to the U.S.


Yaqui Indian communities
in Arizona
Migrants settle beyond
the border states

Constitution of 1917

Elective government
restored, 1920

Cristero Revolt, 19271929
th
19 -century

Forced migration of
Native Americans

Raiding by Kiowas,
Comanches and Apaches
in Mexico
U.S. History

Industrial capital and
private fortunes

Immigration history


Consequences of U.S.Mexico War for the
United States


Slavery
Civil War

Migrants from Europe,
North Africa, Middle
East, Latin America and
China
African-American “Great
Migration” of 1920s
Changing Migratory Patterns

Migrant regional origins





Traditional
North
Center
South-Southeast
Destinations


Major industrial cities
Small towns in the interior of
the U.S.
Annual net flows of migrants
1961-1970
27,500
2000-2005
396,000
2005
26.8 million persons from
Mexico living in the U.S.
10.6 million born in Mexico
Human Faces of Migration
Sam Quiñones


Antonio’s Gun and
Delfino’s Dream


Hard choices for poor
migrants.
Barriers to returning
home to Mexico.
Dangerous border
crossings.
Circular patterns give
way to permanent
migration.
Migration in the Global Economy

Neo-liberal policies

Structural adjustment

Eroding standards of
living

Reduced social services
Maize and Global Markets





Ethanol and world
demand for industrial
uses of maize
Rising prices for Mexican
consumers
Importation of corn
Subsidies to raise
production
NAFTA and peasant
agriculture
Ecuador: “our America”

President Rafael Correa, inaugural speech

Foreign debt service renegotiation

Demands to meet basic social services

Integration of Latin America
Indigenous Movements

Challenges to traditional
national constitutions

Demands for political
recognition, territory,
cultural dignity

Responses to
globalization
Indian Migrants to the U.S.





Inclusion and autonomy
Territorial spaces
Cultural distinctiveness
Autonomous
communities in Chiapas
Language preservation



Tzotzil
Mixtec
Zapotec
Citizenship
 New
political actors
 Internal
indigenous movements
 Migrant populations
 New claims to suffrage
 Paisanos
in Mexico
 Ecuadorian Constituent Assembly
 Voter registration of Brazilians abroad.
Human Rights and Populism






Freedom from detention
Security of life and home
Right to food, housing,
health care
Access to education
Freedom of movement
Right to work and a
living wage
Collaborative Research and Service

Language revitalization

Local histories

Community traditions

Economic development
Border Violence and Civic Action

Border State Governors
and Commissions.

Surveillance and security

Citizens’ networks for
human rights and dignity
Sources of Information







University of New Mexico,
 Latin America Database
University of Texas, LANIC
New York Times
Espadaña Press
SPIN México Ilustrado
Reséndez, Changing National Identities at the Frontier
Zúñiga, et al, Migración México-Estados Unidos