ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a summary of historical and contemporary migration flows from rural Oaxaca to multiple destinations in Mexico and the United States. We focus on migration dynamics for the two regions – Sierra Norte and Mixteca – where our research is conducted. Combined, they account for many of the dynamics that characterize the story of migration from rural Oaxaca more broadly. We then introduce the idea of the TransBorder Corporate Community, which conceptualizes how community life is stretched across state and national borders as migrants self-organize to establish organizations and formal linkages back to their places of origin, and enable the migrants, despite physical absence, to maintain agency in village development and governance. The chapter provides important context on several themes that are discussed in greater detail in the book.
