Mexico's Annually Returning Emigrants

Arguably, Michoacan has been called the most picturesque of all of Mexico’s 31 states. With its hilly landscapes, beguiling lakes, valleys, meadows, and fields, its beautiful beaches and coastline, its colorful marketplaces, its amazing variety of arts and crafts, and its well-preserved colonial architecture, the state is a joy to behold. However, not so visible to the casual visitor, lies a different visual and sociological reality. Most of Michoacan’s rural villages and towns are semi-deserted for most of the year.

Yearly, tens of thousands of Michoacan’s residents, some legally but most illegally, almost exclusively for economic reasons as a result of lack of viable opportunities at home, leave this gorgeous, predominately agricultural state, to emigrate to the United States. Between 2004 and 2009, this Western Central Mexican state had the highest number of Mexican emigrants going to the US. It is said that there are approximately 11,000,000 Mexican nationals living north of the border in the US; Michoacan with a population of close to 4,000,000 has around 2,500,000 of its citizens residing in the US.

Moreover, nationally, remittances from those Mexican citizens living in the US to their families in Mexico are second only to oil as a source of foreign income flowing into the country. In 2009, that resulted in $21.5 billion coming into Mexico. With over 11% of its families consistently receiving remittances, Michoacan is the largest recipient in the country. For good or bad, as reliance on these remittances may be a disincentive for long-range and sustainable economic development, much of the “wealth” of the state is dependent on such contributions.

However, every year in December, in Michoacan and elsewhere in the country where emigration to the US is high (primarily in all of the other Central Mexican states along with the Southeastern states of Yucatan, and Chiapas), many of these Nortenos/Northerners, mostly legally, traditionally return to their home villages, towns, and cities for, normally, anywhere from two weeks to three months. Where I live, in the northeast portion of the state, the number of “Northerners” is the highest in all of Michoacan.

Consequently, come late November through early January, the time of numerous fiestas, Northerner weddings, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the nine nights of the Posadas along with Christmas, New Year, and Three Kings Day celebrations, in Churintzio there are many changes occurring. A town that has an inordinate amount of single mothers is now bursting with male-headed families. Many of the approximately 50% of the town’s unoccupied homes suddenly become temporarily occupied. Many of the partially built future “retirement” homes of those emigrants are once again under construction (and then stopped again as they depart- some will eventually be finished while a high percentage never will be). Its once uncrowded narrow streets are now unmanageably crowded with oversized pick-up trucks and SUVs bearing license plates from such US states as California, Texas, Florida, Washington, and Illinois. Its normally not so busy stores are now jammed with customers. The typically moderately busy tianguis/Monday market becomes nearly unnavigable and the number of vendors multiply. The well used plaza becomes even more so, day and night. The garbage problem becomes exponentially even more so; the noise level through the early morning hours even more so! Quarter-filled buses to and from the mid-sized cities of Zamora and La Piedad now are full.

Some of these returning Northerners have attained a measure of financial and occupational success in the US; most have not. Yet, successful or not, they all put on the face-saving - perpetuating the highly illusive America streets made of gold myth- appearance that they have succeeded; those numerous, mostly male, residents of the town who have been to the US and unsuccessfully returned, say absolutamente nada to contradict them. The visiting women and children wear their “Sunday best” everyday. The men loudly strut about wearing fancy sombreros de vaqueros/cowboy hats, fancy belts and buckles, and even fancier leather or exotic skinned cowboy boots along with ostentatious gold chains/medallions around their necks. The hidden architectural facades of the town are now inundated by the more obvious human facades.

Unarguably and sadly, the migratory patterns in this lovely state will historically and continually repeat themselves-the degree to which largely dependent on the state of the US economy. More desperate people from Michoacan will leave for the US. Some of them in a pompous peacock sort of way will make the annual migratory visit back home to primarily socialize with family and friends.

As for me, when this annual migration into Churintzio is taking place, as much as possible, I literally head for the nearby trails and hills. There it is peaceful and tranquil. You see, I would much rather observe such unpretentious and natural northern migrants like tree swallows, blue-grey gnatcatchers, Northern Mockingbirds, American Kestrels, and turkey vultures rather than observe the economically driven human variety.