THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF MIGRANT GROUPS
BY LR
For many years now, Latinos
have been finding themselves migrating and using their culture to impact their
new homes. From the types of establishments present in these new places to the
commodities which drive their economies, it is clear that Latinos have had a
very significant effect on the space surrounding them. Newburgh, New York is by
no means an exception. It is described as a melting pot, being home to a wide array
of cultures and customs. Newburgh is specifically known for housing a very
large concentration of Central Americans and Mexicans. I’ve lived in Newburgh
for 8 years and have had very close interactions with the Mexican population,
which is why I would like to focus on them for this post. Speaking from
personal experience, I can attest to the fact that Mexicans as a group are seen
as holding little to no power. One would often dismiss a Mexican individual as
“weak” based on personal prejudice and/or their legal status. It is with this
in mind that I wonder how small undocumented Mexican groups find themselves
becoming major global players? In this blogpost I argue that these groups are
able to benefit from transnationalism and influence very important aspects of
life in their native countries.
Now, I would like to clarify
that I obviously believe Mexicans have some type of influence over Newburgh.
One would just need to take a stroll through the city and see the plethora of
Mexican restaurants next to the countless “Mexican bodegas” in order to realize
their importance. What I am saying is that they’re seen as holding little
political power when it comes to major decisions. After watching The Sixth Section by Alex Rivera, I can
see how this is a very big misconception. The documentary shows the lives of
several Mexican immigrants who create the Grupo Union as a tool to invest in
their native town of Boqueron. I’ve interacted with many members of Grupo Union
without even knowing that such an entity existed. How do you go from anonimity
to making a difference in a whole different country? This occurs due to the
emergence of transnationalism. Transnationalism is when different countries are
linked through the production process and share series of networks (i.e.- Law
firms, internet, banking, etc…) (Sassen 2000). This is very clear throughout
most of newburgh, in which many stores advertise the sending of money to
different Latin American countries. Newburgh is also home to many factories of
Latin American firms. It is obvious this accessibility makes it easy to have
interactions between nations. These individuals are also able to achieve all of
this by outsmarting the current system. “They are managing to leverage that
power across the border and, in a way, reversing the dynamic of what we’ve seen
over and over again of globalization, which is U.S. capital exploiting the
weakness of foreign currency, exploiting the low wages in other countries” (Decena
2006). These individuals use the strength of the American currency to “organize
here but to excercise their power there” (Decena 2006).
Grupo Union is able to save
up money and with it have an immense effect on Boqueron. They built a stadium,
bought an ambulance, made changes to the infrastructure of a school, etc… Their
altruistic actions even caught the attention of the government who decided to
invest in Boqueron after seeing the attention being paid to it. These few
“common folks” were able to shape this town to the point where a local governor
got to know of them and was forced to participate in their activities. It is
incredible the difference these few men are making in such a short amount of
time and with such limited resources. The truth is that economic importance of
Latin American firms and networks such as the internet made it easier for Grupo
Union and many other small migrant groups to have an impact outside of U.S.
borders. No matter how small you are, our current society is so interconnected
that you can have an effect on another country no matter how limited your assets.
WORKS CITED:
Decena, Carlos Ulises, and
Margaret Gray. "Putting Transnationalism to Work." 2006.
Accessed
March 27, 2016. https://blackboard.albany.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1951496-dt-content-rid-8928134_1/courses/2159-ALCS-283-10080/decena_sixth_section_2006.pdf.
Sassen, S. (2000). Cities
in a world economy (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Pine
Forge
Press.
How important would you value transnationalism to nationwide economies? For many Latin american nations, remmitances play a large role in keeping their economy running, how does this effect the U.S. economy? How does this effect local economies such as in Newburgh, NY?
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting how you yourself have been able to meet the members of the Grupo Union without even knowing of their impact on their small town back in Mexico. Do you believe that as a group they should have had a more political salience within the community in Newburgh? In other words, do you think these groups that provide remittances to their home country should be recognized by the greater American society for what they do?
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Your stance on trans-nationalism seems to be that it's mainly a positive thing and allows for the empowerment of the members of Grupo Union and the development of their home in Boqueron. Do you think there are critical drawbacks to trans-nationalism? Would it be better if the U.S. had left Central/South American countries alone in their quest for expanding trade, or are the benefits of transnationalism so vast that it was worth it?
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some really good points here! However, my question is about the effect on the US economy due to this trans-nationalism. What I perceived from the movie the sixth section, was that the Mexican "hero" would send any and all the extra money they could back to their Latin American homes each month. From here one could say that because of this, their leisure money was not being spent in America. Do you think that this decrease in money circulation within the US has a negative effect?
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed this post because you were able to bring in personal experiences and anecdotes to support your claims and detest the misconception that Mexicans in Newburgh are major players in the community. It is very interesting that such small and unnoticed workers can have such a large role in their home country and completely transform it into something amazing. In the film, many members of Grupo Union have either accepted the fact or actually want to stay in America for the rest of their lives. If they know the conditions are bad here (i.e. poor working conditions, strenuous manual labor, etc.), why choose to stay? Would they rather look like heroes in their hometown and "take the heat" so to speak, or do you think they could make a political difference here in Newburgh/U.S. as well?
I really liked your personal connection to this topic and it provided very unique insight into the situation. You talked about not realizing how much of an influence Groupo Union has before being exposed to it in class, which leads me to wonder what could be achieved if they channeled their resources into Newburgh and not Boquerón. This is not to say that they shouldn't support their hometown, it is just an interesting hypothetical to consider. They have been enormously successful at organizing and raising funds for projects across the border, so it could be interesting to consider how visible Groupo Union would become and how much more support they would get if their results benefitted Newburgh.
ReplyDelete