Las nuevas comunidades mexicanas en los espacios rurales de los Estados Unidos de América: a propósito de una reflexión acerca del quehacer antropológico

I have documented in other works an increase in the migratory flow between Mexico's rural communities and California's agricultural fields, as a result of the growth and reintensification of USA agriculture. I will add in this paper some theoretical and practical reflections about that experience. First, I will apply those ideas that were proposed by Karl Kautsky (1899) and Angel Palerm (1980) on the limits of capitalist agriculture and its dependence on peasant labor sources (non-capitalist). The case of California's agriculture will do for reviving an old discussion on the peasantry and its rol in the development of capitalism. Second, I will apply the ideas of Sidney Mintz, on the analytical usefulness of integrating the production and consumption of agricultural commodities inside the same framework. We will look at the consumption factors that do stimulate the world demand of California's agricultural products that are being produced on the basis of mexican labor. Last, we will propose some questions about anthropological practice and the need of training anthropologists for being able to face up the problems of modern world.En otros trabajos he documentado el crecimiento del flujo migratorio que une a las comunidades rurales de México con los campos agrícolas de California, como resultado de la expansión y reintensificación de la agricultura norteamericana. Este ensayo agrega algunas reflexiones de carácter teórico y práctico en torno a dicha experiencia. Primero, aplicando las ideas avanzadas por Karl Kautsky (1899) y Angel Palerm (1980) sobre los límites 1 de la agricultura capitalista y su dependencia de fuentes de trabajo campesinas (no capitalistas). El caso de la agricultura de California servirá para resucitar una vieja discusión acerca del papel de los campesinos en el desarrollo del capitalismo. Segundo, aplicando las ideas de Sidney Mintz (1979 y 1985) acerca de la conveniencia analítica de integrar la producción y el consumo de las mercancías agrícolas en un mismo marco de referencia, examinaremos los factores del consumo que estimulan la demanda mundial de los productos agrícolas de California que se producen con mano de obra mexicana. Aprovechamos la ocasión para levantar algunos puntos de discusión acerca de la práctica antropológica y la formación de antropólogos capaces de enfrentar teórica y prácticamente temas del mundo moderno

The new rural California: Farmworkers putting down roots in Central Valley communities

At times, rural agricultural communities have been viewed as chronically impoverished, overgrown labor camps with few prospects for improvement. The common wisdom is that costly public assistance will be needed to ensure the social integration of poor, undocumented, unskilled, uneducated, non-English-speaking, foreign-born farmworkers and their families

Immigrant and Migrant Farm Workers in the Santa Maria Valley, California

Immigrant and migrant farm workers from Mexico and other countries are large and growing in number and in importance to U.S. agriculture, but they often are not counted in the decennial census due to high mobility, illegal status, and/or unconventional housing. This report is based on ethnographic research conducted in California's Santa Maria Valley, an active agricultural area rich in labor-intensive cultivation of prime vegetable and fruit crops. Calculations of crop acreage, man-hours of labor required for each crop, and full- and part-time agricultural employees are verified and augmented by information gained from comprehensive interviews with immigrant and migrant agricultural workers concerning their migratory and employment histories, housing arrangements, and relationships to Mexican communities.The report concludes that routine census procedures can only result in a significant under-reporting of numbers of immigrant and, particularly, migrant farm workers in Santa Maria and, by extension, in other regions of the country which rely heavily upon imported labor; that many immigrant and migrant farmworkers have good reason to fear exposure to government representatives and thus will attempt to remain hidden from them; and that lack of adequate housing contributes to difficulties in locating and enumerating this population. The most important step toward resolution of these problems and many related issues would be reform of U.S. immigration policy which would recognize, legalize, and protect imported migrant workers. Absent such enlightenment, however, more accurate enumeration and description of this population can be accomplished if bilingual and bicultural census workers are trained to patiently and repeatedly approach their households and unconventional dwellings using ethnographic research methods. Under current conditions, this will require a radical redefinition of the terms "residence" and "household" in the context of the census. And, although the timing of the national census is not ideal for identification of the largest number of migrant farm workers, follow-up studies should be performed at peak employment periods. Such surveys, thoroughly performed, would yield rich rewards in information about the farm-working population as well as provide an essential cross-check to standard census data

The new rural California: Farmworkers putting down roots in Central Valley communities

At times, rural agricultural communities have been viewed as chronically impoverished, overgrown labor camps with few prospects for improvement. The common wisdom is that costly public assistance will be needed to ensure the social integration of poor, undocumented, unskilled, uneducated, non-English-speaking, foreign-born farmworkers and their families