The processes of internal and international migration that are lived in the Mazahua community transform the roles of men and women who belong to this people, so reinforce the cultural features so that they are not affected as a consequence of such processes is a field open to research, said Rocío Sabino Nava, a researcher at the Intercultural University of the State of Mexico (IUEM).
During the Forum “Mobility and migration trends in the Mazahua region of the State of Mexico. The case of San Felipe del Progreso”; Sabino Nava explained that when men migrate to work, either to the country’s capital or to the United States, the role of the woman who stays changes and It is not only dedicated to serving the household, but also to take care of livestock, agriculture and community organization.
In this way, he said, within the framework of this event organized by the Research Center and Studies in International Mobility and Migration (CIyEMMI) of the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, man becomes only a provider that provides resources economic benefits to the community and fulfills the specific objective of migrating in search of resources. Mazahua migrants, he explained, leave their communities to go for money, but usually they return during the harvests, when the work in the field is heavier or better, they return to participate in the parties.
Another of the migratory situations that occur in the Mazahua community, he said, occurs when young people leave their place of origin to go to study, and in this case, live a process in which not only compare their culture with the new reality, but they do everything possible to hide it, and this includes everything from the way of feeding to the language and dress, with the purpose of
avoid discrimination.
For his part, Iván Pedraza Durán, also a professor at the UIEM, said that until now, in the community does everything possible to maintain elements of the Mazahua culture that identify them, as the consumption of the tortilla, the use of blankets and tablecloths and some phrases in language originating that continue to be recognized.
In turn, Jaciel Esquivel Antonio, delegate of the community of San Lucas Ocotepec, giving his testimony as a return migrant from the United States, he assured that his migratory experience allowed to verify that in Mexico the impossibility of accessing a high educational level limits the development of people, while in the neighboring country had the option to work in the construction, receive a good salary and learn the trade.
