Abuelas en la migración. Migración circular, servicios de cuidados y reunificación familiar en una localidad del occidente michoacano

Resumen

Abstract: This study examines the topic of grandmothers who migrate to the United States to care for their grandchildren, by analyzing a group of older adult women who in the mid-1990s began to devise the forms and acquire the knowledge that allowed them to go ‘North’ to see their children and grandchildren. Over time, their visits became more frequent and their stays longer, such that today they are a fundamental element in the reproduction of migrant families, or families that were reunified after the amnesty offered in the 1980s. The article is based on testimonies by grandmothers, grandchildren and parents regarding what the presence of those grandmothers in the U.S. represents. The research is qualitative in nature, since we sought to gather information at both ends of the migratory circuit: origin and destination. The principle contribution of this study consists in demonstrating that the issue of older adults in contexts of migration merits much greater attention since, as in this case, they are subjects who are reconfigured by changes in the dynamics of Mexican migrant families. The effects of this phenomenon are dual, for these grandmothers both care for and are cared for in migratory contexts.