Abstract

ECHEGOYEN NAVA, Gabriela. That's how Life is over there, Isn't it? Family Life Changes among Mexican Non-Migrants who Stayed behind. Migr. Inter [online]. 2013, vol.7, n.1, pp.9-33. ISSN 2594-0279.

This article studies the experiences of the non-migrating kin of Mexican undocumented emigrants to the United States. It examines the negotiations and changes in family life of those who stayed behind by looking at spouses", siblings" and parent-children's relations. First, it analyzes the perceptions and imaginaries that non-migrants hold of migrants" life abroad and introduces three possible outcomes for its conceptualization: positive overcompensation, neutral perspective and negative compensation. It also analyzes the positive changes in family dynamics for the individual self-perceptions of those who stay behind. Subsequently, it discusses the role played by the extended family in the household arrangements following emigration. Lastly, it explores the relations and adjustments taking place between return-migrants and those who stayed behind.

Keywords : Mexico-United States migration; transnational family relations; compensation; non-migrants staying behind; extended family.