The Migrant Village Association in Latin America: A Comparative Analysis
Author(s)
Hirabayashi, Lane Ryo
Abstract
A review of the literature on migrant regional and village associations in Latin American cities reveals an emphasis on the forms and functions of such groups. Far less has been written about why such associations are formed. The paucity of explanations appears to be the result of two analytic extremes. On one hand, ethnographic conditions reportedly accounting for the formation of migrant associations can vary widely. Analyses may stress either micro or macro level, rural or urban settings, synchronic or diachronic processes, and cultural, political, or economic conditions -individually or in different combinations. On the other hand, the waning of explanations emphasizing simple cultural continuity has led researchers to hypothesize that regional and village associations are formed by migrants in cities as the result of structural (economic and political) conditions.
