Migration: Its' Causes and Effects Within a Mexican Sub-Culture

Migration: Its' Causes and Effects within a Mexican Sub-Culture

"Migration uproots people from their families and their communities and from their conventional ways of understanding the world. They enter a new terrain filled with new people, new images, new lifeways, and new experiences. They return ... and act as agents of change." (Grimes 1998: 66)

The migration experience is one that has deeply altered and affected the lives of many peoples, including Mexicans and specifically Putlecans. Some say that the vast numbers of these people who decide to migrate is a new phenomenon. But there is actually a rich and complex history to it that goes back as far as the 1600s. This paper discusses the causes that stimulated migration to and from the Putla region, and the effects these migration patterns had on the identity of the Putlecan people.

Only half a century ago, in 1940 a majority of the Putlecan people were not content with the way their lives were being run, and were seeking solutions to their problems. Under President Porfirio Diaz the Putlecan people were offered a dramatic solution: the Bracero Program. The Bracero Program gave workers a new opportunity: migration. By migrating into either Mexico City or even the north, the United States, they hoped to find a more prosperous means of living. The program offered to thousands of Mexican workers the chance to work farms in the United States and get paid good wages. Unfortunately, it had its failings. As rewarding as the program may have seemed, it turned out to be anything other than what these people had hoped for. "Some did manage to save enough to build a home, but most had their illusions crushed by the hard work and the meager salaries paid. (Grimes 1998: 40-41)" Basically, the program was a way for the American employers to exploit Mexican workers and pay them little, so that they would wind up with the benefits instead of the workers. The program ended in 1964. This represented the first major wave of Putlecan migration of the 20th century.

So what is Putla? Where is it? You could say it's in the state of Oaxaca, in the Mixtec region, in the subregion of Mixteca de la Costa, on the pre-Hispanic and colonial north and south trade routes, or in the Valley of Putla where Mixteca Alta, Mixteca Baja, and Mixteca de la Costa meet. This region has a rich history of triumphs and losses, which helped sculpt what it is today. As a boundary between diverse ecological zones, it has been and remains the site of an important regional marketplace. In the first half of the 16th century, the Spaniards arrived, and the indigenous people's ways of life were changed forever. One of the first things the European people did was change the political and social systems. On the political side, there was indirect rule, governed by officials, and social hierarchies were implemented. Class, race, and gender were the means by which people were set apart. On the social side, Spain brought the influences of the Catholic religion, including a patriarchal social structure. In that light, women were held in very low-standing. Race became the main justification for discrimination and subordination of indigenous peoples. One huge change in particular that the Spaniards made was how the economy of Putla functioned. On their arrival, they introduced new livestock. They also brought the means of sugar production that flourished for a time but subsequently declined over the years. The principal economic activity became commerce. The indigenous people found themselves in a classic colonial economy where they harvested raw materials for export to their occupiers' benefit, and then had to buy them back from them as finished goods as consumers. Some say it was a prosperous future the Europeans were bringing to the indigenous people.

Returning to the twentieth century, Porfirio Diaz continued to impose changes on Mexico, Putla and the Putlecans. The government confiscated the land that belonged to the church and native Putlecans so that they could sell it back to them. Sounds good right? I mean, just a couple bucks to get that land back? I don't think so. "The idea was to make Mexico a country of small-scale landowners, but only rich Mexicans and foreign investors had money to buy land." (Grimes, 1998: 31) According to Diaz, the purpose of his reforms was to modernize Putla, and encourage foreign immigration, especially of the wealthier whites. "Immigration policies encouraged the entry of white foreigners and prohibited that of people of color in order to "whiten" the population." (Grimes, 1998: 33) The result was a shift in land ownership from the Putlecans to either white foreign investors, or rich Mexicans from outside the municipos. This change was drastic. Living as a Putlecan under these new conditions became more difficult due to the changes in land ownership, and the increasing presence and influence in Putla of wealthy outsiders. This new shift in power in the region added more reasons for the locals to migrate from Putla in search of new homes and better opportunities.

The once short-lived Bracero Program had come and gone. Diaz' land reform policies had failed to improve the lives of the average Putlecan. Many Putlecans still had hopes that they could do better for themselves in the bigger Mexican cities or the U.S.A. Those who decided to migrate soon found themselves earning more money, but they also experienced an unexpected transformation of their identities. Upon arriving in America, Putlecans had to start over with a new reality as they "discovered that they are lumped together with other Spanish-speaking people and are referred to as 'Hispanics' by the dominant society." (Grimes 1998: 83) Their identity becomes relative, they're at the "bottom of the barrel" to start in the eyes of many Americans. So why was it that some Putlecans were willing to go through all this? Remittances! About 2/3 of migrants sent remittances to their families and spouses to provide them their basic needs (Grimes 1998: 61). One of the main areas that they preferred, and continue to prefer to migrate to, is the East Coast: specifically Atlantic City. "Little Putla," in Atlantic City, has done well in aiding Putlecans in succeeding. Little Putla is a six-block area that consists of small businesses and restaurants that allow Putlecans to promote their culture, and even persuade tourists to visit Putla (Grimes 1998: 59). It is similar to Chinatowns in New York City or San Francisco, or even "Little Italy" in nearby Hartford. The emergence of these kinds of communities that keep their culture distinct can be seen as a rejection of assimilation. However, the Putlecans do not always find