ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses whether the limited efficacy of present arrangements can be significantly improved and sustained, or whether migrant organizing is merely a temporary boost to village development, with support slowly eroded by the aging-out of organizational leadership. In the area of village governance, the situation around migrant support is more complex and arguably more pressing. The propensity of migrants to organize in support of their community of origin is also shaped by the nature of the relationship between groups of migrants and village authorities. Many of the migrants who established migrant organizations in the 1970s and 1980s are beginning to retire, and with a waning influence over the direction that migrant collectives take. Migrants in both Mexico and the US spoke of the need to streamline community governance, to get ‘beyond tradition and allow for new ways to emerge’. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
