Migración y Movilidad Social en Cochabamba Bolivia

Resumen

Bolivia has experienced a structural change since the mid-80’s and through the 90’s. As a result, migratory flows from empoverished rural areas and mining centers in crisis to the main cities and to some tropical regions of the country have intensified. This study is about the effect of migration on social mobility chances of individuals. The analysis of survey data reveals that socio-occupational mobility is relatively low, in particular, when considered as intra-generational mobility and when implies three or more categories in a given social scale. Using the same data, the impact of rural migration to the urban centers has been estimated significantly positive and in some cases, it’s bigger than the effect of education, which has been considered – traditionally – the best way to assign social positions. The unequal development process of the country is the main cause of migratory trends towards significantly more affluent urban zones, whether the wealth is the result of the historical accumulation of value or it is the presence of financial resources or even natural resources. The need to overcome poverty and relative poverty in particular, is supporting an ideological complex and a set of practices and/or strategies in which social mobility is a key element. This is how an essentially unequal system is reinforced.