The Migrant Club El Remolino: A Binational Community Experience
Author(s)
Longoria, Miguel Moctezuma
Abstract
One out of five Mexican households depends on remittances from migrant workers in the U.S. The economic impact of this export is huge, an average of $17 million a day is sent to the country from nationals abroad. While remittances are seen as a survival strategy by most recipients, for some migrant groups abroad they are part of a strategy for community development. This case study focuses on migrant organizations from the central state of Zacatecas that are channeling a variety of social investments into their communities of origin in Mexico. Through their activities, these organizations are generating two new social processes: the construction of the “collective migrant” as a new social subject, and the use of pooled remittances for binational investment in productive infrastructure. Both of these have strong implications for local economies and cultural identities.
