ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a regional analysis of the state of Jalisco, with respect to migration to the United States. It argues that migratory patterns are a geographical phenomenon related to inequalities in comparative socioeconomic levels in populated areas, and that both patterns and levels of migration are products of economic, social and political processes. The chapter explores ways to influence these patterns, with special reference to migration to the United States. The Ciudad Guzman region is of particular interest in the study of the relationship between international migration and regional development. Most research on migration to the United States has taken place in rural and semiurban communities in the states of Jalisco, Zacatecas and Michoacan. The traditional economic dynamism of the Guzman area, and particularly of Ciudad Guzman itself, has undergone some recent changes that add a new element in considering the linkage between migration and the region's economic development.
