Identity and rural migration: A phenomenological approach

Abstract

The objective of the paper is to analyze the experiences of returned migrants in Tejupilco, State of Mexico. We use the phenomenological epoche as a theoretical and methodological axis, and we apply it to ten individuals who migrated to the United States that for different reasons returned to Mexico (August-Novem-ber 2007). In this way, the paper starts from the premise that it is necessary to deepen the migratory experience, beyond the established pragmatic knowledge, and to base the experiences of the individuals in a factual way. The results show the need for the social sciences to appreciate the migration issue in a phenomenological way. The findings demonstrated the existence a migratory identity of dynamic nature that does not depend on macrosocial factors but depends on the activity performed by the subject as a social actor. Likewise, the results allow us to conclude that the way in which migrants assimilate the meaning of experience is a source of transcendental meaning that currently represents their lifestyle.