Mexico

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

By Flor De María Hurtado, Solferino Media

Summary

United States is the main destination of all Mexicans who migrate from their country, seeking employment and better living conditions. Mexico and the United States share a vast border more than three thousand square kilometers long.

This proximity, the lack of employment, and the capacity of the US economy to absorb thousands of employees every year has led to the number of native Mexicans living in the United States doubling over the past two decades, reaching an all-time high of 10 million.

This population is very heterogeneous and has very different characteristics depending on their place of origin, socio-economical level, etc... . We could say that their only bond is the relationship and communication they keep with their communities of origin.

The fact that remittances have become the number two source of foreign currency in Mexico and that during the past year they have amounted to more than USD 14 billion indicates that there is a strong link among these transnational communities.

The transnational communities are more and more linked to each other, although there is still an enormous technological gap in the rural zones of the country. To communicate, they still use traditional means such as the telegraph, mail and the telephone, as well as radio and television that now have frequencies on both sides of the frontier. Large television broadcasting companies in Mexico air their signals in the United States and serve as communication links among Mexicans on both sides of the border.

Traditionally, Mexicans accustom to organizing themselves into various types of clubs, through which they establish communication with their places of origin; these clubs are known as Clubs for Native Mexicans. They are organizations established by persons in their new communities in the United States, from the same Mexican town or state. Their members seek to promote the well-being of Mexican communities as well as Mexican US residents by collecting money to finance public works and social interest projects. At present, there are more than 670 registered clubs and estimates indicate that the actual number nay be more than twice that. There are also federations that group various clubs with members from a same Mexican state.

Almost all of the clubs have Internet sites, which facilitates communications among immigrants and their communities of origin. Likewise, the Mexican state governments that have attention offices for their immigrants have created Web pages that can be used as links among their fellow countrymen, as well as the National Coordination of Immigrant Attention State Offices (CONOFAN is the Mexican acronym).

Government agencies, such as the Institute for Mexicans Abroad, have web pages of the different Mexican communities living in the United States and transmit their relevant information. Also, the National Immigration Institute provides help to migrants through the Fellow Countrymen Program and provides legal advisory and government protection through its Web page.

Due to the scarce infrastructure availability in the emigration zones, the most common method used to access the network is to use the Internet Cafes located in the urban hubs and in the main municipal communities. The Mexican Government recently launched the e-México project that coordinates actions regarding connectivity, contents and systems, to face the digital gap in the country. As to connectivity, in 2003 a satellite network was put into operation, which, during the first stage, enabled linking at least one high-speed connectivity point in each and every municipality throughout the country via 3,200 Digital Community Centers.

Back to index.

Back to Table of Contents.