Social Inequality and International Migration Related to Climate Stressors: The Case of Mexico

Abstract

Moving away from considering climate change as a direct or indirect push factor of migration, this chapter focuses on the unequal access of people affected by climate-related stressors to existing migration networks. Underprivileged members of society often lack access to these networks and are therefore unable to migrate internationally because they cannot reduce the costs and risks of potential migration projects to an acceptable level. Climate change might aggravate this situation by having an adverse impact on people’s socio-economic condition. This in turn increases the pressure to adapt in situ or migrate and adds to existing social inequalities. Based on empirical data from the Mexican states of Zacatecas and Veracruz, this chapter describes how access to migration networks depends not only on economic resources but also on the cultural context, individual preferences, and personal attributes, such as age and gender. Thus, people who might not be able to migrate now will be even less able to do so under more severe socio-economic conditions brought about by climate change, as they do not have access to existing migrant networks. On the other hand, some people never sought access to migration networks because they never wanted to leave their communities, and this view doesn’t change in the context of climate change stressors.