Reorientación productiva de los migrantes: el caso de Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca

Abstract

Migration studies have commonly focused on regional emigration or depopulation and the subsequent «financial recovery». However, rural migration is usually practiced in a «circular» manner, with the main feature being a constant transmission of knowledge, skills, technology and human and economic resources. Seen this way rather than as a mere practice of economic survival, migration can be a tool through which cultural elements that allow for innovation in traditional production processes are updated. Thus and on occasions, migrant return can lead to productive and socio-cultural changes that trigger local communal development. This paper examines four cases of Oaxacan migrant mezcal producers and their experiences, especially in regards to the use of new technologies geared toward mezcal production and commercialization.