LA MIGRACIÓN COMO RESPUESTA DE LOS CAMPESINOS ANTE LA CRISIS DEL CAFÉ: ESTUDIO EN TRES MUNICIPIOS DEL ESTADO DE PUEBLA FARMERS MIGRATION AS THE ANSWER TO FACE THE COFFEE CRISIS: A RESEARCH IN THREE MUNICIPALITIES OF THE STATE OF PUEBLA

Resumen

SUMMARY In Mexico, the great majority of the coffee producers ―mainly indigenous― live in poverty conditions. During the last years because of the coffee crisis, the conditions of poverty and marginalization are accentuated. Due this situation, the peasants look for alternatives for family survival, considering migration as an alternative. The purpose of this research is to analyze the existing relation between poverty, coffee production and migration, and the impact in the peasants family in three indigenous municipalities. For this research, 49 peasants of the municipalities of “San Felipe Tepatlan”, “Amixtlan and Hueytamalco” in “Sierra Norte” of “Puebla” were interviewed. The results show that the studied municipalities are under high conditions of marginalization. The level of schooling of the inhabitants is low and illiteracy is alarming. The producers of the region are small farm owners and the majority was organized (56.8 %) and a great part (66.7%) sell their coffee in the community. Results indicate that those who leave the community looking for jobs are mainly the sons and daughters; their main reason for migrating is their poor economic situation. In relation to the international migration, it was found that the number of people crossing the United States border looking for better is still low (4.7%) thus, the future is predictable, if the crisis in the agricultural sector continues a greater number of inhabitants of rural area will emigrate towards the neighboring country, as an alternative to the rural crisis.