Urban poverty among mountain Raramuri women: Migration, fiesta and family

The Raramuri are an indigenous group that have lived in northern Mexico since well before the conquest. When the conquest reached them, they moved to the high Sierras of Chihuahua to preserve their independence and traditions. The Raramuri1 have remained relatively isolated in spite of incursions by Mexican society to exploit the mountains? natural resources. They have resisted official efforts by the Mexican government and Christianity to integrate them into the national society and culture. They experience serious economic deprivation (as assessed by official Mexican standards) accompanied by high infant mortality and malnutrition. Yet, a rich cultural tradition and a successful adaptation to the arid mountains has allowed them to survive and preserve a vibrant way of life and community. In the past fifteen years two major trends have affected many of the Raramuri. Population growth and a severe drought have forced many to migrate from the mountains to the cities and the rural commercial farms of Chihuahua. Many are seasonal migrants who seek work in the orchards during the fruit seasons and who return to the Sierra when the apple harvest is over. These migrants are often men who bring their families with them and live in makeshift dwellings. Others are more permanent migrants who live for longer periods of time within the cities and take more permanent work. Some groups of migrants have established colonies and settlements in the cities of Juarez, Cuauhtemoc, and Chihuahua City. The more permanent migrants include two parent families, single mothers and their children, and single women and men. The Mexican government, the state government, and municipal governments have implemented some programs to assist with the conditions of these migrants who live with severe economic and cultural deprivation. There is little social scientific knowledge of the situation of these migrants, their culture, or the effectiveness of the government programs. The research reported here is designed to provide insights into the living conditions and poverty of the Raramuri women themselves. As such, it is a case study which examines, in depth, the problems and conditions of these women: their culture, roles, and life stories in the cities. We attempt to present their conditions as they choose to describe them rather than as outsiders? accounts. While a focused case study, this research fits within the context of generalizing studies of poverty. Our research is part of a growing interest in expanding the work on poverty to the non-economic dimensions and to expand the definitions and discussion of poverty to include the interests and opinions of the poor expressed in their own terms. ?There are 2.8 billion poverty experts, the poor themselves. Yet the development discourse about poverty has been dominated by the perspectives and expertise of those who are not poor professionals, politicians, and agency officials?. This research was designed to make contributions to this general discussion of poverty.