2006 Tinker Summer Research Report Maria Harrington Latin American Studies "Continuity of a Community’s Identity in the Face of Migration"

A school in Chiapas.

A dynamic, beautiful, diverse and multidimensional landscape and demography, Chiapas is home to 3,920,892 people. According to the National Indigenist Institute’s 2000 census 24 to 34 percent of this population is either Tsotsil, Tseltal, Chol, Zoque, Tojolobal, Mame, Chuj, Kanjobal, Jacalteco, Lacandón, Katchikel or Mocho . Although most recently known for the EZLN Zapatista uprising that took the world by surprise on January 1, 1994 , Chiapas has long been an intriguing place for foreigners as its natural resources are as abundant as its ancient ruins and cultural diversity. It was this cultural abundance that was at the base of my investigation this summer. My intention was to see how the rapid increase of indigenous migration to the United States has been affecting the culture and traditions that have subsisted in Chiapas for hundreds of years. I intend to use this basis as a link between the indigenous Chiapanecos who have stayed in their homeland and those who have come to California ’s San Francisco Bay Area. In essence, the ultimate purpose of my thesis is to see how identity changes on both sides of the border in the face of migration. Nonetheless, the main objective of this summer’s fieldwork, was to research which indigenous groups are coming to the United States and why.

In comparison to other groups, indigenous Chiapanecos have historically made up a very small portion of Mexican immigrants in the United States . Even today, although it is one of the states with the largest indigenous population in Mexico, Chiapanecos only constitute 2.6 percent of the total indigenous migration to the US. (1) Generally in the past, those who did migrate just moved to other parts of the state or country. According to Mexico ’s National Indigenist Institute (INI), population growth, land issues and poor access to the labor market were the three factors that caused most indigenous migration within Chiapas during the past century. (2) Furthermore, it is important to understand the issues that caused past migrations in order to analyze the newest wave of migration that has brought indigenous Chiapanecos all the way to the United States.

As previously stated, in Chiapas there has been a huge population increase since the 1930s. The population nearly doubled between 1930 and 1950 and then again between 1970 and 1990 from 1,559,340 to 3,210,496. (3) Moreover in the indigenous populations of many municipalities for example Chamula, San Cristóbal de las Casas, Teopisca, Tenejapa, Chalchuitán y Oxchuc this population growth is very visible. In all of these towns it is the norm for men and women to marry very young and to continue having children until women reach their mid-forties. As a result the rise in live births and decline in infant mortality is the primary reason for many of the municipalities in Chiapas , no matter how rural, to have had populations that have doubled or tripled since the 70s. As the indigenous population increased, land became increasingly scarce. This created an enormous amount of tension within indigenous communities because for them land is not only important because most indigenous are farmers, but also because land is symbolic in the indigenous culture. (4) As a result, violent land issues have been a reoccurrence throughout the century.

Within recent decades, Chiapas has been the battleground for religious and armed warfare all stemming from land scarcity. Coupled with the previous reasons for migration, indigenous Chiapanecos until 1994 were forced to invade land that historically had belonged to other groups. For example, since there has been a disparity in which indigenous groups have population growth, the communities that have experience higher rates like the Tsotsiles and Tseltales, began to take over land that customarily had belonged to the Zoques in the north. (5)Among other reasons, land takeovers like these, growing hostility toward enormous fincas, which had huge amounts of unused land and were owned by wealthy Ladinos, enormous waves of migration from Central America to escape civil war, religious persecution between Protestants and Catholics throughout the state and devastating natural disasters all erupted in 1994 as the Zapatista movement demanded and succeeded in land apprehension and distribution. However, not all benefited from the Zapatista movement, and with compounding problems resulting from the fall in coffee prices and new natural disasters that wiped out whole crops, many indigenous finally decided to throw in the towel and send their best and bravest to travel to el otro lado.

Even though Chiapanecan organizations box indigenous motivation for migration into neat squares, if you ask anyone in the marketplaces of San Cristóbal or Palenque the reason for so many people leaving, most will reply, Sípues, es por la pobreza, “Yes well, because of poverty.” Although this answer is probably the one that many Mexican immigrants trying to cross to el otro lado would give you, the way las señoras indígenas, who have watched their children leave, utter the words is different. For these people who have suffered racism, classism, poverty and hatred for so long, it’s hard to understand by the way they give their answer, if their children migrate because they still have hope or out of complete desperation.

Although the migrations within Chiapas caused indigenous communities to mix cultures with other groups and probably resulted in the loss of traditions and language, communities and families were at least able to leave and stay together. Today, however, no one knows what the impact on cultural identity will be as many of the men are traveling thousands of miles to another country that is each day becoming harsher and more dangerous for undocumented immigrants. Also, although in Chiapas the cultural, political and religious diversity may deepen its beauty and richness to foreign eyes, the research I did over there makes me wonder about its affects on Chiapanecos here. Unlike other Mexican immigrants who help each other by state identity, for example the FIOB which is very strong in its organization to help Oaxaqueños no matter their indigenous affiliation, I am curious to find out how these divisions affect Chiapanecos’ success in the United States .

Within the past few years, conflict issues in the indigenous zones, the incursion of the paramilitary, the presence of the military, the overall change in the socio-political climate as it has become more violent and tense, the divisions and conflicts within the indigenous communities, religious conflicts, natural disasters and the struggle fought everyday to continue living in native territories have become the new reasons for internal migration as well as migration to the United States; but how do these divisions affect them when they are here, namely in the San Francisco Bay Area, is the question that my research in Chiapas produced.

The magnificence of Chiapas’ people and landscape is incredible and the divisions that these groups live with each day is amazing for communities who are so ancient. To say the least, it will be a remarkable experience and privilege to continue this work as I write my master’s thesis.

A temple in Chiapas.

1998-1999 Census representing the northern border of Mexico. México Indígena vol. 2 num. 6 p 55 INI Mexico: DF. 2003.

Rubio, Miguel Angel, et al. La Migración Indígena en México. Primera edición. INI Mexico: DF. 2000.

Sánchez, Javier Gutiérrez. La Migración Indígena en la Frontera Sur Causas y Perspectivas. INI Mexico: DF. 2000.

Sánchez, Javier Gutiérrez. La Migración Indígena en la Frontera Sur Causas y Perspectivas. INI Mexico: DF. 2000.

Sánchez, Javier Gutiérrez. La Migración Indígena en la Frontera Sur Causas y Perspectivas. INI Mexico: DF. 2000.