Mexico Case Study

Question 1

What are the impacts of rural urban migration on DESTINATION areas

Answer 1

• Larger workforce, in economically active age bracket, improves productivity
• More people moving into cities for education bringing in a well educated population to work skilled jobs
• Rapid urbanisation can lead to overpopulation, putting pressure on services
• Environmental degredation due to more vehicles, pollution
• Influx of migrants may cause local people to be unhappy, causing political problems
• Quality of life decreases as area doesn’t have resources to cope, squatter settlements arise

Question 2

What are the impacts of rural urban migration on SOURCE areas?

Answer 2

• Relaxed pressure on services, potentially leading to better healthcare, lowered house prices, less crime
• Underpopulation, jobs being unfilled, less money being contributed to economy, businesses close, towns disappear
• Skilled workers leave, leaving area with less educated and skilled people to support the economy
• Population in towns grows older as young able people leave
• Men more likely to leave than women, leaving behind a higher proportion of women.

Question 3

How many Mexican born migrants in the USA?

Answer 3

10-14 million

Question 4

What % of total immigrants do Mexicans make up the USA?

Answer 4

25% of the 44.5 million immigrants

Question 5

How many Mexicans enter the USA each year?

Answer 5

100,000

Question 6

What is the character of the occupation of Mexican migrants in the US from 1942-1965?

Answer 6

80.1% were farmers, with 9% unskilled workers, 6.3% service workers, 4.2% skilled workers, and 0.4% professional.

Question 7

What is the character of Mexican immigrants (age) in 2017?

Answer 7

4% under 18,
86% between 18-64
10% 65 or over

Question 8

What is the character of occupations in the 2007?

Answer 8

20.8% Agriculture
7.5% Unskilled
30.6% Services
40.9% Skilled
0.3% Professional

Question 9

Describe the period of migration from Mexico - US from 1900-1941

Answer 9

1900-1941: El Enganche, hooking of Mexicans by US Contractors, with awful and hard work with bad pay, until 1929, then the wall street crash & economic misery = deportations

Question 10

Describe the period of migration from Mexico-US from 1942-1965

Answer 10

“Manual labour” needed for WW1 and the boom that followed; guarantees of decent pay and conditions (known as Bracero programme)

Question 11

Describe the period of migration from Mexico-US from 1966-1986

Answer 11

Bracero programme finished, no specific policies, illegal migration surged

Question 12

Describe the period of migration from Mexico-US from 1987-2006

Answer 12

Bipolar era - Increased penalities for employers who used illegal workers, but at the same time, residency for workers present in the country

Question 13

Describe migration from Mexico-US since 2007

Answer 13

Better conditions in Mexico has meant fewer migrants from Mexico itself, but many from other central american countries, who travel through Mexico.

Question 14

Describe the pattern of migration from Mexico into the US

Answer 14

• Movement of people from Mexico (MIC) to USA (HIC)
• Most Mexican migrants come from rural states to travel to the USA (rather than big cities e.g Mexico City)
• Most migrants are found in thriving rural areas with lots of labour demanding agriculture and thriving urban areas with a mix of skilled and unskilled jobs
• Some evidence of chain migration

Question 15

What are the impacts of migration to the United States ON MEXICO?

Answer 15

• High value of remittances ($25 Billion in 2008)
• Reduced unemployment pressure, as migrants tend to leave areas where unemployment is particularly high
• Lower pressure on housing stock and public services
• Changes in population structure
• Loss of skilled and enterprising people