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Migration from Oaxaca Push Factors There are many push factors that are leading approximately 150,000 Oaxacans to emigrate to the northern states of Mexi co and to the United States. - Oaxaca is second nationally in poverty with 76% of the population living in extreme poverty.
- Mexican minimum wage is 5 dollars for a workday of 8 hours. In Oaxaca many are paid below the national minimum wage.
- Only 2.9% of the federal government´s investment in Oaxaca is directed toward rural areas.
- Meanwhile, imported corn is 30% cheaper than local corn causing farmers to leave rural regions.
- 60% of the demand for employment in Oaxaca has remainied unsatisfied.
National Migration - Approximately 250 thousand Oaxacans are migrant workers to other states in Mexico primarily Sinaloa, Sonora, and Baja California. They harvest tomato, coffee, sugar cane and other crops.
- Oaxaca is the 2nd state in Mexico after Guerrero for the greatest flow of child migrants.
- Migrant children in Mexico work alongside their parents. Their futures hold few alternatives to migrant labor.
- Child migrants often do not attend school because the schools are far from the labor camps and Mexico doesn’t allow students to begin in the middle of a school year.
- In the last 5 years as many men and women have migrated both inside and out of Mexico.
Oaxacan Migration to the U.S - At its peak, international migration from Oaxaca reached 250,000 each year.
- In California there are 500 thousand Indigenous Oaxacans.
- Approximately 3,300 Oaxacan children who live in San Diego participate in the Binational Migrant Education Program.
- In 2007, 24 boys and 7 unaccompanied Oaxacan girls were deported from the U.S. to Mexico.
- In 2007 and the first half of 2008, the bodies of 353 Oaxacans were returned to their communities of origen with the help of the Oaxacan Institute for Attention to the Migrant.
Remittances - Remittances are the 3rd largest contributor to Oaxaca´s economy after tourism and coffee.
- 10-15 million pesos are received each day in Oaxaca, although due to the U.S. economic downturn this number is dropping off.
- Remittances benefit Oaxaca through home improvements, more food security for families and investments in education. Occasionaly there are investments in porductive projects. Remittances also lead to consumerism, dependence, and the cycle of migration
Impact on Oaxacan Communities Abandonment of the countryside Cultural traditions such as community service are getting lost Human trafficking places large financial burdens on migrants and families and can lead to insurmountable debts. Coyotes (guides) charge approximately 40 to 50 thousand pesos. Youth may be negatively affected. In many instances there are cultural clashes between parents and youth, customs and language are lost, young people abandon their studies to emigrate, disillusioned by the dream of earning dollars easily. When migrants return to their communities, some have become involved in drugs, gangs or contracted illnesses like HIV/AIDS Family disintegration occurs as children are raised by single mothers, grandparents or other relatives.
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