The Mexico-United States migratory system: Dilemmas of regional integration, development, and emigration

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe the Mexico-United States migratory system, with particular emphasis on the problems and challenges that have arisen from the implementation of NAFTA. In pursuit of that goal, it analyzes four analytical dimensions: (1) the regional economic integration; (2) the transnational labor market; (3) the development model; and (4) the emergence of collective or organized migrants. Our argument underscores the fact that the recent upswing in Mexican migration fulfills a dual function: first of all, it assists the process of productive restructuring ongoing within the U.S. economy by supplying cheap labor and, second, it bolsters the socioeconomic stability of Mexico, a country which rather than promoting a development policy that would integrate its diaspora has deepened its dependence on remittances from abroad. The analytical approach is based on the political economy of development and relies on two guiding theoretical propositions: the labor export-led model, and the remittance-based development model.