The emergence of collective migrants and their role in Mexico’s local and regional development

Abstract

By current estimates, almost 22 million inhabitants of Mexican origin reside in the United States.1 Behind that impressive figure – equal to 8% of the total U.S. population and 22% of Mexico’s – lies a complex interplay of relations between the two countries. These relations have been affected by changes in migratory patterns and by spectacular rates of growth in the income earned from selling Mexican labour abroad, which totaled almost US$6 billion in 1999.