Abstract
Even though Mexican migration is one of the most cited cases in migration research, the impact of environmental degradation or natural disasters on migration flows originating in Mexico is still a field under exploration. This chapter, based on fieldwork carried out in the frame of the EACH-FOR Project, gives an overview of selected problems of environmental degradation, of migration flows within and from Mexico, as well as of linkages between both phenomena. Two cases have been selected in this study, illustrating the linkages between environmental problems and migration. In Western Tlaxcala, located in central Mexico, the consequences of desertification, land degradation, and changing rainfall patterns on the rural economy and on migration are the main focus. In the case of the south-eastern state of Chiapas, the poorest state within the Mexican federation, the impact of tropical storms on migration flows is the focus.
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Notes
- 1.
A more detailed version, including a list of interview partners in Mexico, is available on the EACH-FOR website (www.each-for.eu).
- 2.
PRI: Partido Revolucionario Institucional/Institutional Revolutionary Party, governing party from its founding in 1929 until the elections in 2000 (former names: National Revolutionary Party, Party of the Mexican Revolution).
- 3.
Official name: Mexican Farm Worker Program, 1942–1964.
- 4.
Acatepahua, Amatenango de la Frontera, Bella Vista, Chiapilla, Escuintla, Huehuetán, Mapastepec, Ostuacán, and Unión Juárez.
- 5.
It is important to mention that, in the case of Chiapas, the realisation of the 2005 count was prolonged until 15 November 2005, due to the difficulties in reaching remote communities after the passage of hurricane Stan in early October 2005. As the time period between the destruction caused by the storm and the realisation of the survey is very short (6 weeks), it is questionable, to which extent the impact of Stan may be reflected in the 2005 data.
- 6.
Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía.
- 7.
Interview with Hugo Ángeles, ECOSUR Tapachula.
- 8.
Encuesta sobre Migración en la Frontera Norte de México/Survey on migration at the Northern Border of Mexico.
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Acknowledgements
The author wants to give his special thanks to collaborating researchers in Mexican partner institutions, above all to Hugo Ángeles, Martha Rojas, and Carmen Fernández from the El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) in Tapachula, and Fernando Herrera and Oscar Calderón from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana – Iztapalapa (UAM-I) in Mexico City. Their support has been of central importance for the realisation of fieldwork in the selected regions. This research was carried out within the framework of the EACH-FOR Project with the financial support of the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme (contract number 044468). The project has been realised between January 2007 and March 2009.
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Alscher, S. (2010). Environmental Factors in Mexican Migration: The Cases of Chiapas and Tlaxcala. In: Afifi, T., Jäger, J. (eds) Environment, Forced Migration and Social Vulnerability. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12416-7_13
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