Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

This article deals with the life histories of young Oaxacans settled in two far-removed locations involved in intensive agriculture. The author proposes the notion of the narrative constellation of resistance as a methodological resource for analyzing the complexity of life histories on di- erent levels (geographical, collective, and individual). Resistance is dealt with as a narrative route produced by the subjects in response to the historic overarching ethnic, gender, racial, and class discrimination experienced over di erent generations. The article draws on a qualita- tive methodology, using in-depth interviews in a biographical cohort study. 

Many scholars argue that the rules, mechanisms and bodies established under the North American Free Trade Agreement’s Chapter 11 for the settlement of disputes on foreign direct investment have undermined the policymaking capacities of national and subnational governments in the United States, Mexico and Canada for promoting public welfare in their territories. In their view, the provisions of Chapter 11 on the resolution of investor-state disputes allow business actors to undermine and overthrow domestic legislation that might be perceived as adverse to their investments. In contrast, this article argues that the rules, mechanisms and actions and decisions of the bodies established by Chapter 11 have contributed to reaffirm the power of national and subnational governments in North America to enact and uphold social-oriented domestic laws. Over the past 20 years, Chapter 11’s dispute settlement mechanisms have demonstrated they lack the structure and power to fully address investor-state disputes; they thus constitute quasi-regional mechanisms, not supranational rules and bodies which can overrule the decisions of governmental actors. Furthermore, their creation and implementation mainly responded to the interests of the North American national governments, not foreign investors (as it is widely assumed), in delivering an institutional and legal framework that would ease and increase the flows of trade and investment capital between their countries without compromising their sovereignty and policy-making powers. As a result, the mechanisms and bodies of Chapter 11, foremost amongst them, the Arbitral Tribunals, have consistently favoured the actions and largely held up the decisions and policies of national and subnational governments in the three North American countries over the claims of foreign investors.

This work analyzes Dreamers’ political participation as a civic association movement, as well as their pathway for social change in the U.S. The article reflects on their social capital and the challenges facing them to explain the possible scenarios for a movement that has politicized a considerable number of contemporary young U.S. Americans. The aim is to complement the existing work in the field, contributing with explanations grounded in political sociology approaches, focused on the politicization of undocumented youth, the analysis of minority association, the influence and leadership of the movement, and, especially, Dreamers’ opportunities and challenges in U.S. politics. 

One of the highest binational population and remittance exchanges in the world occurs between Mexico and the US. Building on social capital theory, this study investigated the impact of remittance receipt on the migration intentions of Mexican adolescents living along the border (N = 984). Hierarchical regressions revealed the receipt of remittances predicted self-reported (1) desire to live in and (2) intentions to move to the US after graduation. Having a parent in the US was related to intentions to migrate, but did not moderate the relationship between remittances and migration intentions. Implications for policy and future research are made.

Languishing labor market conditions throughout Latin America, along with pull factors in countries such as the United States, point to continued and increased skilled migration from Latin America. The outflow of well-educated Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Peruvians, Venezuelans, Brazilians, and Mexicans in search of better incomes and career opportunities is well noted. Yet, there exists important qualitative differences in terms of who does—and, important in this context, who does not—emigrate and why? Drawing on interview data with Mexican professionals in Mexico City, in this article I suggest that social network theory is insufficient for understanding skilled migration from Mexico. Focusing on those who stay behind, I offer instead a sociocultural framework; one that privileges individuals’ own discursive renderings and one that acknowledges that individuals’ decisions not to migrate are rooted in class-based dispositions, cultural beliefs, and social practices.

This article reports partial results of an anthropological study of Mexican minor migrants repa-triated from the United States across the Tamaulipas/Texas border. The author’s aim is to analy-ze some of the potential risks these young people face on their journey. The study is based on documentary sources and interviews with male and female teens between the ages of 14 and 17 from Southern and Central Mexico, who were housed at a Tamaulipas Center for the Care of Border Minors. Specifically, the study deals with risks such as being the possible victims of the region’s organized crime, contacting coyotes (human smugglers), being taken by them to “safe houses,” crossing the Rio Grande, and, finally, being detained by Border Patrol agents.

Canada’s healthcare system has gained great support in the country, but at the same time has sparked a big debate over its main challenges and sustainability. This article weighs both positive and negative aspects of the healthcare system, known as Medicare. It has three sections: the first presents a theoretical framework based on the political economy of healthcare, and a historical context, where the origins of Medicare are addressed. The second part assesses Medicare’s main achievements, and the third analyzes the system’s main challenges. Conclusions and perspectives for the healthcare system follow. 

This article examines labor unions decline in the United States over the period 1980-2015, using union density rates as the main indicator to measure labor union representation in the employed labor force. The analysis relies on an analytical framework which classifies the factors accounting for union decline in cyclical, structural and political-institutional. Similarly, unionization trends are contrasted between the United States and other developed countries; a notable divergence is detected. The results show that union decline in the U.S. has been determined mostly by institutions regulating the labor system than by economic globalization.

This article’s central aim is to analyze U.S. immigration policy with regard to the admission of skilled Mexican immigrants. It analyzes the impact of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act, approved by the U.S. Senate in 2013. An analysis of the American Community Survey data suggests that skilled Mexican workers would not be the immigrants most benefitted by this law given the socio-demographic and migratory characteristics of those already residing in the United States. immigration modernization.