Mexico Field Work (Oaxaca, Puebla-Veracruz, Zacatecas)

[from "Communications Landscaping: North and Latin American Transnational Communities"]

By: Elías Hernández Tapia

Summary

The purpose of this fieldwork was to closely supervise the manner in which so-called transnational communities communicate and to establish the formal and informal media that serve as their communication and integration link. The work was done using Internet, through formal and informal interviews and through constant supervision in various municipalities in the three regions submitted to the research:

Puebla: Tulcingo and Tecomatlán
Veracruz: Yanga and Cuitláhuac
Oaxaca: Zapotitlán Lagunas and San Andrés Tepetlapa
Zacatecas: Monte Escobedo and Tepetongo
Below we list some of the most relevant conclusions.

• The main communication medium between the Mexican – United States transnational communities is the telephone. The call destinations in the United States are mainly New York, California and Chicago. The main service vendor is the Mexican company Telmex.


• A good deal of the telephone communications are made through telephone booths or through telephone service public access sites.


• The communities who live in remote areas use the so-called "voceo". What they do is use a loud speaker installed on the roof of the establishment where the telephone booth that receives the calls is located, to advise the persons called of the call, as their houses are usually a certain distance from the booth.


• In spite of their popularity, the demand for local telephone booths has dropped. Money transfers by US residents have allowed their families to acquire their own telephone lines and the facility to acquire mobile phones has limited the use of establishment telephone booths to short calls.


• We could not affirm that Internet is causing a significant rapprochement among the emigrants and their families, as well as with government agencies or with organized communities; this is due to factors such as lack of access, high cost, and little knowledge regarding its use. However, an intense use of the Internet by youths has been detected, more for entertainment than for communication purposes.


• Slowly, Internet use is strengthening thanks to benefits such as its immediacy (being able to write in a chat or the possibility to see and listen through microphones and web cams), benefits that not only attract the young but also a small part of the adult population who acknowledges the implicit advantages that using the Internet has for them to be in close contact with their families.


• As with telephony, the main Internet service provider is Telmex. Only a few families have access to Internet in their homes; the main access centers to the network are the cybercafes. With the proliferation of these establishments in the communities visited, the price for using the service has gradually dropped over the past three years.


• It is worth highlighting the importance of remittances and mail (packages) as a bonding factor for both emigrants and their communities of origin, Remittances allow the families of emigrants to purchase goods and services that, otherwise, they could not easily obtain. Also, they play an important role in improving public utilities as well as in the development of different community and religious type events.


• Remittances are also related to the use of telephone, as it is the main medium used to report the remittance and confirm its receipt. The places preferred for receiving remittances are local private agencies.


• There are other communications media that allow those "on the other side" to learn about relevant events: for example, sending home videos with family news and events and sending local newspapers. This information is complemented by newspapers in Spanish distributed in the United States, which keep immigrants informed on topics that they are interested in: employment, health care, Mexican politics, etc...


• The panorama for organizations that work or promote innovations in radio, television or telephony for transnational communities is somehow discouraging. Those who emigrate to the US have little communication media, to keep them informed of any news at all in their communities of origin. Nor were municipal government programs or policies aimed at supporting communications strengthening identified.


• In contrast, various particular initiatives that serve as a communication and integration bridge among emigrants, their families and communities of origin were identified:
  • Testimonio 13, a family organization in Zacatecas that promotes a local newspaper and a Web site.
  • A radio station, also in Zacatecas, which covers neighboring states and some states in the South of the United States.
  • XEMA, a radio station based in Fresnillo, which every Sunday broadcasts a two-hour program for Zacatecas, neighboring states and several areas in North America, especially Los Angeles. The program can be used by emigrants and their families to talk and share relevant news regarding their regions.

Back to index.

Back to Table of Contents.