CHAPTER 9 TRANSNATIONALISM AND THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF MESOAMERICA 357In the process of exploring new markets and diversifying production, Almolongueños have
adopted new perspectives on the world. This ideological change predisposed more people to
accept the new religion and simultaneously to explore economic alternatives. As a result, the
production of nontraditional crops has been accompanied by capital accumulation and economic
differentiation within the town and in the region, since Almolongueños hire workers from neigh-
boring towns. People refer to their competitiveness, individualism, and interest in profit and ac-
cumulation. However, growing economic differences and obvious resentment from their
neighbors, combined with problems of environmental degradation, are now giving rise to ques-
tions about the limits of the productive strategy adopted by the people of Almolonga.In Chiapas, Mexico, lack of land has driven peasants to become tenant farmers
through a system of sharecropping. By these means, they rent lands and pay rent
with part of the harvest. Gaining a livelihood by this means is increasingly difficult,
since rentable parcels become scarcer. In recent years, Guatemalan agricultural work-
ers have displaced those from Chiapas, because they are willing to work for even
lower wages. The Guatemalans come from rural regions in which they have no access
to land or other economic opportunities. Reluctantly, they travel to Chiapas to earn
a living.
Other Mesoamericans have responded to the landless conditions and lack of
economic opportunities by forming criminal organizations. One of the most infa-
mous is the Salvadoran Salvatruchas, which operates from El Salvador to Chiapas on
the Pacific coast. The Salvatruchas have engaged in a number of illicit activities from
drug dealing, kidnapping, robbery, and the sale of contraband. Fortunately, most
Mesoamericans do not follow this economic strategy. Instead, they migrate to other
areas to seek legitimate work, try to start small businesses even if informal, and lobby
through unions and professional organizations to help create more favorable eco-
nomic conditions.
In summary, a large sector of the people in the Mesoamerican region is made up
of rural inhabitants. Many of them are peasants who have been subjected to policies
that have resulted in land loss. The increasing population, along with the loss of cul-
tural traditions, has further contributed to their dwindling land resources. The loss
of land or access to arable land has contributed to widespread migration from rural
to urban areas, since many peasants try to support themselves and their families by
establishing work opportunities in major urban areas. In greater numbers than in the
past, however, landless peasants throughout Mexico and Central America have also
opted to migrate to the cities and to other countries (especially to the United States).LABOR AND PRODUCTION
IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
In this section we will consider four basic labor production strategies: wage labor, petty
commodity production, cottage industries, and maquiladora industries. Such pro-
duction strategies point to Mesoamerica’s wider connections to the global economy.(continued)