Norteamérica (Aug 2018)

Adapting Spousal Relations and Transnational Family Structures: Responses to Mexican-Canadian Seasonal Agricultural Migration

  • Aaraón Díaz Mendiburo,
  • Janet McLaughlin,
  • Don Wells,
  • André Lyn

DOI
https://doi.org/10.20999/nam.2018.b002
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 2

Abstract

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By examining the families and supporting social structures of Mexican “temporary” migrant workers in Canada’s Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP), this article explains how these transnational families modify their structures in an evolving context of neoliberal transnational regionalization. The authors discuss how migrants and their family members respond to changes associated with circular seasonal migration in order to both reduce threats of family breakdown and strengthen their families. They also analyze key contradictions associated with these responses, including those in which new behaviors contribute to greater autonomy and significant changes to gender roles, simultaneously creating greater stress for families.

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