Returning migration and the changes in migration flow rates in Michoacan, Jalisco and Guanajuato

Abstract

Returning migration has become an important issue regarding Mexican migration to the United States in the last five year. At the same time the deferral decision of many young people to leave their hometowns and migrate to the United States has been a constant in the daily life of many towns in Mexico´s countryside. This has already been reflected in national statistics particularly in the 2010 Census (INEGI) and in the Migratory Intensity Index (CONAPO). Based on this information and with anthropological data collected from the field, returning migration in the states of Michoacan, Jalisco and Guanajuato, which are part of the traditional migration region, was analyzed. Returning migration has increased in almost every municipality in these states but at the same time and contradictorily, while in many households returning migration has increase, in others, remittances are starting to be received. It was also found that some households presented circular migration. Findings suggest a confirmation of conceptual notions according to which migration is a highly com­plex social phenomenon.