• Work in Progress--Please do not cite without permission of ...

Work in Progress--Please do not cite without permission of the author
LOURDES GUTIERREZ NAJERA
LGN@UMICH.EDU
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
WWW.UMICH.EDU
LABOR IS EVERYTHING: TEQUIO AS SOCIAL FABRIC IN YALALAG
To be presented at ILASSA conference
February 2004
Lourdes Gutierrez Najera
University of Michigan
I first went to Jose’s house, in 1995, searching for his sister, Aurora, one of the first
women from Yalálag to migrate to Los Angeles. Ushered into an open patio I was given
a chair and asked to wait while a five-year-old girl ran to tell Aurora that she had a
visitor. It wasn’t long before a short, white haired man greeted me with a strong
handshake and a big smile. He sat opposite of me and began to talk: “My name is Jose
Ignacio; thank you for coming to listen to us. Yalálag is a community that works hard.”
I quickly took out my pen and notebook from my backpack and began scribbling down
1
Jose's unfolding history of involvement with community service and labor. His story was
quickly interrupted as Jose’s thirty-year-old daughter, Rosa, and sister, Aurora,
approached us. Rosa who was there to help with translation during the interview,
informed her father that I was there to ask Aurora about her experiences as a migrant.
Jose apologized at the realization that I had not come to learn about community labor. At
this point my research focused on migration narratives to be used in a study of
transnational migration. In 1998 however, I returned to Jose’s house seeking Don Jose to
finish the conversation we had begun three years earlier.
In February of 1998, the Camara de Diputados, Oaxaca’s governing body,
declared that there was “ungovernability” in Yalálag due to a local political conflict,
which I discuss in another chapter, and issued a statement proclaiming “un vacio de
autoridad” (a void of authority) leaving the community without any recognized
leadership. The town was divided into two main factions over who should assume
leadership of the community as a result of this political conflict. In the wake of the
discussions and debates over local politics, Don Jose, an eighty-two year old elder in the
community became a prominent spokesperson expounding on Yalálag’s culture and
history. Don Jose gave his personal testimony on at least half a dozen occasions, in 1998,
before state representatives, politicians, and reporters. Don Jose’s testimony took on
significance for two reasons; first, tequio and servicio were at the center of the political
debate as members of the community argued whether this tradition had become
anachronistic or not. Second, Don Jose’s testimony was consistently offered as a way to
understand and justify the relevance of tequio for the community, as a traditional zapotec
2
pueblo. These two reasons suggest that the social significance of tequio merits further
discussion.
Don Jose has grown accustomed to people, both within and outside the
community, seeking him out for a seasoned perspective on indigenous customs and
traditions. Like the others who came before me, I approached Jose eager to understand
his experiences. Although it was not hard to find a person willing to talk about tequio, I
was drawn to Don Jose and found myself returning frequently to visit him. His dramatic
telling of history, aided by deliberate hand movements, facial gestures and varied body
expressions as well as varied vocal tones was captivating. His passion for teaching others
about Yalálag’s rich historical memory was equally alluring. On a warm July morning,
Jose sat on a white plastic lawn chair, across from me, inside his house. He sat back in
his chair legs stretched forward feet crossed, and began to talk:
Good morning. Thank you for coming here to this community to see for
yourself what is true. Many state functionaries make decisions from their
desk without ever coming to our pueblo to see the truth for themselves.
We the ancianos (ancients or elders) have fulfilled our cargo obligations,
all of the municipal cargos and responsibilities because without tequio
and municipal service, there is no life in a community. And we give life to
a community when we fulfill our tequio obligations and our municipal
service. Here we give tequio, we have constructed our schools, we have
constructed a health clinic, we have constructed roads for everyone, for
those who are alive today and for the future generations. We are not
selfish people. Those who do not work also benefit from these fruits of
labor despite not contributing even a grain of sand towards [any]
community project. The municipal palace, for example, was in a state of
decay, already in the process of collapsing, when we took the initiative to
work together in a communal fashion to repair this building. And those
people never participated on this project. Today, we aspire for our
children to have a preparatory school [in the village]. We have struggled
for our secondary school, we have struggled much so that our young
people will be prepared. We know that selfishness and perversity will end
when our young truly become men trained through education because
without education, ignorance will endure. We continue [our struggle]
with that enthusiasm, with the spirit to continue fulfilling our obligations
3
 with tequio and thereby continue to bring life to this community of
Yalálag. Many years ago there were [other] persons who also fought like
us. There was much bloodshed but nevertheless the problem continued.
We have always fought in the name of education and health because we
know that this is the path to improve the lives and conditions of a pueblo.
We know that there will be young people that continue in our path. But we
also know that there will be other young people who will search for ways
to destroy it. But we know that there will be more conscious young people
who will defend their pueblo, who will defend their culture. That is why
we continue steadfast in struggle.
For Don Jose, like other Yalaltecos, el trabajo es todo (labor is everything). Yalaltecos
willingly expound upon the virtues of trabajo and provide visible evidence of the fruits of
their trabajo (i.e. school buildings, clinic, churches, etc.). What are the various forms of
trabajo that Yalalatecos recognize? What significance does trabajo have for Yalaltecos?
How are we to understand the importance of trabajo among Yalaltecos? How do
migrants relate to these ideas of labor? Understanding these terms within the fabric of
the community allows us to better assess the relations between labor, identity, and
community.
Don Jose’s narrative makes clear the relative importance of trabajo among
Yalatecos in several ways. First, it illustrates nicely, the varied forms that trabajo can
take in Yalálag, through its mention of tequio, cargos, and servicio. Second, the narrative
stresses a communal aspect of labor. It also indicates the possible scale of projects
produced through trabajo. But trabajo, in its varied forms is much more than a means
for producing works through organized labor.
In this chapter on trabajo, I will argue that labor (trabajo), and in particular
tequio, is socially significant. As such, tequio is linked to notions of identity as a pueblo
and hence to ideas of citizenship. Within Yalálag notions of citizenship, defined by rules
of inclusion and exclusion are shaped around ideas of labor. Tequio is also used within
4
Yalálag as a form of resistance. At a local level, tequio has served as a weapon to defeat
systems of political bosses who ruled despotically. Within the context of state and
national domination and marginalization, tequio has been used as an “instrument of
struggle” for local indigenous autonomy. Only after understanding the social
significance of tequio, can we begin place this practice within the current conflict over
the future development of the community.
Defining “trabajo”
Trabajo has various different meanings when used by Yalalatecos. A common
usage of trabajo is in reference to a particular product of labor. It may also refer to
various forms of wage and non-wage labor. This is consistent with findings from Julio
de la Fuente in his classic study of Yalálag, which distinguishes two forms of labor in
Yalálag- salaried labor and reciprocal labor (1949:119). There is a third reference
associated with trabajo, tequio or communal labor.
Although many indigenous communities, like Yalálag, have been largely
subsistence based, in the past several decades, more and more people have become
involved in wage labor, largely as a result of migration but also linked to historical
integration into Mexico’s national cash economy. This is not to say that Yalálag did not
have waged forms of labor in the past. Rather, the types of salaried labor have been
limited within Yalálag’s economy. As Julio de la Fuente suggested, wage labor remains
limited to “professional” and “non-professional” occupations (De la Fuente 1949: 111-
115). Common non-professional occupations have historically been associated with
agricultural labor clearing fields, planting, and harvesting by “peones,” laundry work and
5
construction work by “mozos.”1 Professional occupations on the other hand, are
represented in the community by three local teachers, a phone operator, a postal worker, a
medical doctor, and two nurses.
De la Fuente’s study limits non-wage, reciprocal labor to the practice of gotzona,
a system of reciprocity that is used in Yalálag among some individuals and families.
Most commonly, gotzona refers to the provision of agricultural labor for a person or
family that is not compensated through wages with the expectation of a reciprocal
provision agricultural labor in the future. But in limiting non-wage labor to “reciprocal
labor” he excludes other types of significant non-remunerated forms of trabajo Yalaltecos
reference—tequio and servicio. Tequio is a form of collective labor widely practice
throughout Mexico’s indigenous communities primarily for the construction of public
works (i.e. schools, bridges, roads). In contrast, servicio refers to the fulfillment of a
community service or leadership role (cargo) within the local political structure (i.e. as a
policeman, secretary, treasurer). Although he does elaborate on tequio, he limits its value
to purely social and void of economic significance. This is not entirely true as discussed
below.
1
“Peones” and “mozos” are unskilled wage laborers in Yalálag who work any number of
odd jobs for people largely related to agriculture. Generally, the jobs performed by
peones and mozos are low status jobs requiring physical labor in agriculture and
construction.
2
[define cargo system here]
6
 Regardless of professional status, wage or non-wage, Yalalatecos have been
acclaimed for their hard work. Written ten years after de la Fuente’s study, two men
who worked as teachers in Yalálag remark on the work ethos of Yalaltecos.
A person from Yalalag has a high regard for labor and practices it with
optimism and enthusiasm, a rarity. He[She] is audacious, enterprising
and an excellent worker. (Mecinas Ceballos and Sanchez Contreras
1959: 14)
These authors claim that regardless of endeavor, Yalaltecos were recognized and envied
throughout the region for their hardwork and prosperity; a prosperity “derived not from
their technique, but through their laborious efforts.” Their discussion confers Jose’s
insistence that “el trabajo es todo.” But Don Jose’s use of trabajo above emphasizes
tequio a form of labor that is communal and non-remunerated. Although he would not
dismiss the fact that salaried work exists in Yalálag, nor that tequio is also of economic
significance, for Jose, trabajo is not compensated through wages because the primary
value is not gauged by an individual’s monetary compensation but rather is socially
important. This emphasis on trabajo has taken special significance in recent decades as
the value of tequio has come under scrutiny on several grounds including its non-
remunerated nature and its link to “traditionalism.”
As mentioned previously, Yalaltecos have increasingly engaged wage labor
though not necessarily in their natal community. Beginning in the 1940s and 1960s
Yalaltecos began to migrate al norte--to the U.S.--working as agricultural labor. In the
1980s migration to the U.S. increased and Yalaltecos found themselves incorporated into
the booming service sector in Los Angeles. As Yalaltecos began to return home to their
natal community, many of them felt themselves as outsiders in their community.
Perhaps this feeling is best expressed in the common phrase migrants use, “Ya no nos
7
hayamos” (we no longer find ourselves). Why would migrants no longer “find
themselves” in Yalálag? A prevalent response to this question became “no hay trabajo”
(There is no work). Yet Yalaltecos, like Jose, would argue that there is plenty of
“trabajo” to be done. “What is happening is that migrants don’t want to work, that is the
problem. It’s not that there is no work for them to do; they simply don’t want to work
hard. They want money but they don’t want to work for it. If they want to work, they
can go plow their fields, they can make huaraches (sandals). But they don’t want to
work.” Here, Don Jose captures the tensions that are evident between defining labor in
terms of monetary value and defining labor in terms of social value.
There is a debate over whether non-remunerated types of labor should exist in
Yalálag. In particular, migrants question whether tequio (communal labor) and servicio
municipal (municipal service) are merely antiquated practices that should be eliminated.
And if they are to remain, then they argue that they should be remunerated forms of
labor. But tequio is more than a mere economic strategy; it is socially significant. In this
light, Don Jose’s narrative takes on new importance as the debate over tequio is linked to
broader issues such as what it means to be Yalalateco and who belongs. These have far
reaching consequences for the community as a whole. In drawing out these themes of
tequio I turn towards a specific discussion of tequio moving from historical context
towards a specific view of tequio in Yalálag, while emphasizing the social significance of
trabajo.
History of Tequio
Tequio constitutes a species of labor that all citizens give freely, that is, it
is a mechanism for resolving community problems. It is a tradition that
dates prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, and despite hundreds of years
that have lapsed; it has been impossible to erode. –Jaime Ramirez
8
 Tequio refers to a typical form of collective labor practiced in many indigenous
communities within Mexico. Tequio has a long history in Mexico extending to the pre-
conquest when under the direction of the ruling elite, males were expected to meet a
certain quota of labor associated with the construction of public works. 3 In Oaxaca,
tequio produced the archaeological wonders of Monte Alban, the ancient capital of the
Zapotecs and one of the first cities in Mesoamerica. Perched on a hill, in the central
valley of Oaxaca, Monte Alban exercised political, economic, and ideological control
over the other communities and surrounding mountains. Its principal constructions
include a plaza, ball court, palaces, observatory, and other structures, constructed with
tequio labor. Throughout the colonial period, tequio continued to be organized in much
the same way as it had before the Spanish conquest with the exception that now
indigenous labor was organized by colonial efforts. A 16th century document from
Tlatelolco examined in a study on indigenous labor from 15765-1599, details how the
communal house (municipio) was to be constructed by parceling out tequio among
indigenous residents in the various sub-divisions of Tlatelolco. Tequio was organized
under the auspices of the Viceroy. In another instance, a catholic friar, utilized tequio for
the construction of a large aqueduct over a period of 16 years (1541-1557).4 In all, during
the colonial period, tequio continued to function by organizing indigenous labor around
the construction of large projects. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, tequio
3
Soustelle, Jaques. Daily Life of the Aztecs. Pg. 148.
4
Zavala, Silvio. El Servicio personal de los inidios en la Nueva España-III: 1576-1599. Pp. 713-715.
9
in the form of quotas, continued to be demanded from indigenous people for work in the
silver mines of Zacatecas, Queretaro, and Guanajuato, in central Mexico.5
In Oaxaca, tequio often referred to by the common phrase, “a pico y pala” (by
pick-ax and shovel), signaling the use of the simplest of tools—machetes, shovels, sticks,
and hands—that are used in this type of labor, continues to thrive throughout indigenous
communities (Cohen 1999, Kearney 1996, Lewis 1960, Muttersbaugh 2002). Organized
by village authorities, participation in tequio will vary from community to community in
terms of age, gender, and number of days of obligation. In Yalálag, the particular obra or
public work constructed under tequio is selected through a process of consensus during a
general community assembly. 6 Once an obra is decided upon, the number of days to be
worked will also be determined and agreed upon by the assembly. Tequio will normally
take place during January-April, the months corresponding to the dry season, when there
is a relative lull in agricultural activities. Every able-bodied man 18 years old and older
is obliged to work for a specified number of days as determined by a communal
assembly. One local man named Luis explained that “until roughly 15 to 20 years ago,
one was obliged to work 16 days of tequio, but this was very burdensome for people with
few resources and so it was eventually reduced to an obligatory 10 days of labor, per
person.” Although in some communities, failure to comply with tequio obligations may
result in a heavy fine or a jail sentence, in Yalálag this is not the case (Cohen 1999, Lewis
1960, Muttersbaugh 2002). It is common for men to fail to show and for other men,
when they have economic resources available, to pay for a substitute, and for older men
5
See, Altman, Ida and Lockhart. Provinces of Early Mexico.
10
to send their young sons as a substitute. Thus, it is often the case that the same people
provide the main source of tequio labor, repeatedly.
Juan Jose Rendon, a Mexican anthropologist, nicely captures the relevance of
tequio in Oaxaca:
Communal work is well known here in Oaxaca, and is primarily
represented by the notion of tequio. Tequio is the labor that is
fundamental for a community to build, conserve, maintain all its [public]
works for the benefit of the pueblo at large, for example streets, bridges,
municipal buildings, municipal palace, clinics, schools, and churches.
The pueblo as an ensemble made all of these buildings and constructions
serving the community at large.7 (Juan Jose Rendon, 1984)
In recent years, tequio has provided the basis for several important public works in
Yalálag including the following: the installment of a potable water system, the
construction of a secondary school and a new elementary school, a medical facility, and
the municipal palace constructed over the span of seven years (1980-1990).
Trabajando: Tequio labor
Every visitor to Yalálag will inevitably be told about obras (public works) made
possible through tequio. And, visitors will be provided with “proof” (pruebas del trabajo)
as they walk through the village and see obras constructed through tequio such as the
municipio. Though obras are visible, something Jose reiterated when he stated that
“when one labors, from afar one sees the products of labor,” what often remains invisible
6
See Julio de la Fuente for a detailed description of communal labor in Yalálag during the early 1900s.
7
Transcript from Radio interview with Juan Jose Rendon, Oaxaca, October 12, 1992. Personal archives of
Gloria Sanchez.
11
to many observers is the labor process, the tequio, in Yalálag.8 Fortunately, tequio labor
has been documented through use of photographs and video. On my visit to Yalálag
during the summer of 1996, I was browsing through the municipal archive when I
stumbled upon several binders containing hundreds of photographs documenting tequio.
To my delight, the photographs were often accompanied by pithy comments. Together
with the photographs, they serve as historical documents capturing the importance of
tequio and to a larger extent, the struggle against cacicazgo (as will be further explained
below). On a subsequent visit in 2002, I learned that these albums were the product of
Gloria Sanchez, a native historian, activist, and friend. I include several photographs and
captions from this collection along with a brief description, to better understand this form
of labor.
Image one: Tequio 1983-The state in which our pueblo found itself, a terrible set back, has
allowed us to join efforts. Men, women, and children are working without stinting our efforts.
IMAGE #1
The first two set of photographs taken by Gloria Sanchez, document a day of
tequio in 1983 that was provided for the restoration of the municipal palace in Yalálag’s9
main plaza. Because the local authority govern from the municipal palace (much like our
city hall), it is not only an extension of the pueblo, but is also a place that outsiders will
readily recognize and become familiar with. Thus, in its state of decay, the members of
8
Since tequio does not occur year round, one may not be able to see what tequio actually looks like, or
what it entails if one is not there during the months that it takes place.
9
The municipal palace along with the main church is located in the main plaza. Combined these two
edifices represent the heart of the community’s political and religious structure. The church is currently
under repair, largely financed through migrant remittances from Yalaltecos residing in Oaxaca City,
Mexico City, and Los Angeles.
12
the community saw its restoration a worthy project after the end of the old cacicazgo in
the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The restoration work took seven years to complete on the basis of tequio. As one
can see in the first set of photographs, tequio labor involves working together. These
pictures show the labor that men contributed during one day towards the end of the first
stage of the restoration project—the laying down of the cement to complete the first story
of the municipal palace. For this event, hundreds of men were present. While some men
mixed and prepared the cement as seen in the first image, others carried pails full of
cement to the building passed person to person up a ladder, and then to several men
standing on the roof of the building where they were laying the cement down (see bottom
right photo). The men completed their tequio obligation without machinery using only
their natural body strength carrying materials (sand, gravel, and water) and cement, and
also shovels, pails, buckets, and ropes.
As a document, these photographs emphasize the need for cooperation and
community in order to work together, for the completion of an obra. The caption adds
further depth to these photographs placing them within a specific historical context. In
Gloria’s words, “1983. The state in which our pueblo found itself, a terrible set back, has
allowed us to join efforts. Men, women, and children without stinting our efforts.” The
photographs are intentionally set to illustrate how tequio brings progress to a community
when everyone, “men, women, and children” work together in earnest. Thus, tequio
becomes something that can be manipulated or used for the benefit of the pueblo, a point
I will elaborate in another section of this chapter.
13
Image two: Tequio February, 1983-The Union of Women from Yalalag during tequio.10
IMAGE #2
If we examine the first set of pictures further, we notice something else, on the
lower left hand corner, one sees a woman in the photograph, too. Women contributed to
tequio during 1983 in several ways. They provided refreshments for the men while they
labored. Women also contributed physical labor, too. As the second set of photographs
illustrates, many women used buckets to scrape sand and extract pebbles from the bottom
of the river to be used for mortar. And by forming human chains along with other
women, children and men, they facilitated the transport of these building materials to be
used for the restoration of the municipal palace and other obras. This work often
extended from 7a.m. until 4p.m. and later. These photographs intentionally place
Yalaltecas at the center of discussion regarding tequio recognizing their important
contributions not only in aiding the men, but with their own labor also. Moreover, these
photographs are historically significant in that they document official incorporation of
women into the political life of the village. Until the 1980s women had not participated
actively in politics, but with the defeat of cacicazgo, they were able to organize
politically and even form a women’s group, “La Union de Mujeres Yalaltecas,” which in
Gloria’s words, “has worked for the progress of the community.” And as women gained
a political voice, they also accepted their responsibility as citizens, when obliged to
donate tequio.
Image three: tequio 1998
IMAGE #3
10
This women’s group is described in some detail in Lynn Stephen (1991) Zapotec Women.
14
 Over the years I have been witness and taken part in various tequio projects.
Although at times I have helped do handy work on a construction project, or helped carry
firewood and moved materials. Admittedly taking photographs, and doing office work
when asked have been my primary contributions to tequio. So my participant -
observation has been mostly observation when it comes to tequio. But observation
allows me to provide a detailed, and personal perspective on tequio that a photograph
alone cannot capture.
A day of tequio
At five o’clock in the morning Francisco and Juan, his younger brother who lives
in the same household, were dressed and ready to go work. Francisco’s wife Rosario
accompanied them in the kitchen while they drank their coffee and ate their breakfast.
She had already packed their memelas and chile, which they would eat later that day. At
6:00 Francisco hung the bag with his lunch over his shoulder and reached over for his
machete, which he adjusted to his belt, he grabbed his hat and he went out the gate. As
he made his way down the dirt footpath to the highway, his brother Francisco joined him.
They waited by the side of the road until a few more men gathered. A few of them
brought iron rods, ropes, “nylon” sack, while others carried only their machete. Gloria
who was also there to document this day, came with her camera in hand, although she
would also lend a hand in the physical labor, too. At 7:00 the group decided to head
down towards the river (about 4 km) before the sun began to heat up the earth around
them. As they walked along the footpaths that wound down the cerro (hill) and into the
river, they talked, joked, and gossiped in zapotec. Their goal was an area near “el arco,”
15
an arched bridge over the river, where they would gather (big) stones for building a
retaining wall.
After roughly an hour, the men located a spot where there were plenty of rocks.
The men split up into several groups according to task. Some men gathered rocks along
the footpath where the weather had eroded the soil and they could pry the rocks down the
slope of the hill towards the place where they would gather them. In contrast, other men
made their way to anther spot where there were big rocks dug into the earth. Each rock
weighing more than each of the men must be forced out from the earth beneath them.
Using the cast iron rods and tree limbs, which they cut down with their machetes, the
men, pry each rock by leaning their instruments underneath the surface of the rock and
then forcing the rock to lift out of the ground. The men curse and joke around as they
work to move the rock. Once unearthed, they shove the rock down the hilly slopes,
occasionally letting them roll down a bit. They take breaks and wipe the sweat from their
brows and sit a while before moving on to a new rock. It’s a hot day but the men work
until 4 p.m. when they have gathered enough rocks. Gloria takes photographs and aids
the men when she can. Today they were lucky, they could leave the stones along the
road leading to the bridge, where they have fallen and they will return for them when
they secure a truck for transporting them. Now, they must walk back home up the hill
after a day of hard labor under the burning sun. They’ll be home by 6 p.m.
Economics of tequio
Whereas some people may think that tequio is a bit anachronistic today’s post
NAFTA economic climate, belonging in a world long gone, Jose argues that, “To the
contrary, it is to think forward, towards the future.” As he asserts, "In these hills of
16
Oaxaca, where does one acquire the necessary resources to complete tasks if not from
communal labor?”
Economically, tequio and gozona contribute money and possibilities for curtailing
expenditures and hence saving money. Yet these practices are customarily omitted by
traditional national and state economic statistics (for example, INEGI). To clarify this
point, by way of example, in Yalálag, the municipio receives on average 200,000 pesos
annually from the federal government and 800,000 from the state government.11
However, community needs in terms of works and services far exceeds this amount
allotted by the state. When one takes into account the value of tequio, municipial service
encompassing 140 men occupying different types of roles (i.e. municipal president,
police, secretary), and other monetary and non-monetary voluntary contributions
(cooperaciones), and converts these into monetary mounts, local municipal
representatives estimate that the value derived from these practices exceeds the annual
revenue received from state and national coffers by 200%.12
Also not included in community and state economic statistical reports are the
remittances received from the United States. The local telegraphs office maintains daily,
weekly, and monthly records of currency passing into to local hands. Since the
telegraphs office was first installed, money has increasingly flowed into Yalalag in the
form of money-grams and money orders. Victor, who runs the local telegraph and post
office, asserts that on average, 200,000 to 250,000 pesos flow annually into Yalálag
11
La Jornada, Tuesday, March 14, 2000, p. 60.
12
I acquired these statistics during a presentation that was given to Oaxacan state representatives by
community leaders in July of 1998, they are not my own.
17
through electronic means. He tells of how in times past, people would hand carry money
from the U.S. when they returned to Yalalag. However, carrying large amounts of cash
has become increasingly dangerous as more buses and automobiles are assaulted along
the back roads by bandits knowing that immigrants often come carrying large amounts of
cash.13 Rather than risk their lives, many people increasingly use electronic means for
cash transfers and due to the efficiency this mean provides, a growing number of people
send money easily to family and relatives in Yalálag.14
Migrant money thus serves as a form of donation or cooperacion flowing into the
pueblo largely from Yalaltecos living in Los Angeles in order to assist relatives and loved
ones back home, or donated specifically for the communal fiestas, and public works. For
example, with money that Federico, a migrant living in Los Angeles, sends home, his two
eldest children are living in Oaxaca, with relatives, and paying for their sustenance and
educational needs. Claudia, another Yalalteca in Los Angeles, sends money to her
mother so that her little brothers can buy things they need or desire. Claudia, Federico,
and Cornelio, Claudia’s uncle, and many others have recently sent thousands of dollars
13
One such assault occurred the first night I ever visited Yalálag. I was sitting down in the kitchen with my
hosts when someone interrupted and said that the evening bus had been assaulted shortly after leaving
Oaxaca City and entering the mountain pass towards Yalálag. It was in June of 1995 and in the Sierra, it is
a time of many fiestas throughout the various pueblos in celebration of the Patron Saints. Many migrants
make the trip back to the village during these fiestas. Thus, there were many migrants on that bus carrying
back money and goods (TVs, VCRs, radios, etc.) for their families. Several men carrying guns and
machetes held up the bus and one young man was killed. The robbers took off with many valuable items
and money. Because these roads are largely off in the backcountry, there is hardly any police or security
making these types of assaults commonplace, especially during times of fiestas.
14
In many conversations we had throughout the years I have visited Yalálag, Victor has noted the
increasing numbers of people who use this service. Also notable, has been the extent to which community
members are increasingly linked to relatives in the U.S. In fact, records show that over 50% of Yalaltecos
receive some sort of support from money flowing in from the U.S..
18
for the construction of a cultural center in Yalalag too. Sometimes, migrants “loan”
people money in the pueblo, too. Several close friends in Yalalag, had borrowed large
sums of money from relatives in California in order to buy appliances and make
improvements on their homes. Additionally, migrant money can also be sent as payment
for tequio, either by acknowledging their communal responsibility and sending the
equivalent of $50 pesos a day per tequio obligation to the authorities in the municipio or,
by payin a member of their family or community a substitute for communal labor. The
municipio is responsible for setting a monetary equivalent for the various posts and types
of commissions. Since all members of the pueblo are eligible regardless of residence at
the time, if a member happens to be residing in Los Angeles at the time, he/she may
substitute a monetary gift in kind. For example, Manuel was in Los Angeles, when he
was assigned to serve for a year as a municipal police. Because he could not be there to
carry out this post as policeman, he paid the equivalent of fifty dollars. In another case, a
young man left the village with a municipal post pending. When he returns to the village,
he is expected to offer a monetary gift in kind (cooperacion) as a type of sanction for the
failure to meet his obligation or to offer his service. He may also offer to pay a
“substitute” in his absence or have a relative in the community work for him.
Despite the growing significance of remittances and cooperaciones entering
Yalálag, they are not to be confused with tequio. Remittances are direct money, goods,
and services sent to the natal community either for individual or community
consumption. By contrast, in Yalálag, cooperaciones refer to monetary donations or gifts
given voluntarily, depending on level of resources available to an individual or
household. Tequio, refers to non-compensatory communal labor given by individuals in
19
a community. This distinction drawn between forms of monetary flows and labor is
critical in an emerging hierarchical relationship between Yalalag and Los Angeles along
various continuums including ones based production/reproduction and
modernt/backwards type models.
Recent literature on remittances while emphasizing their role in community
development, tends to assume that the flows of remittances and cooperaciones into
communities like Yalálag, do not significantly alter local social and political structures.
Yalalag offers an interesting contrast to these studies. Undeniably remittances and
cooperaciones, from migrants, enter into the community and are used in the construction
of public works. Often, they are instrumental in the purchase of expensive building
materials but, once bought, the obra must be constructed. Yet, to construct an edifice
requires physical labor provided through tequio. But, these studies fail to capture the
importance of the capacity for physical labor itself. In Yalalag, the issue is not whether
remittances and cooperaciones flow into the community, or what forms these may take.
Rather, the issue is about physical labor. However, whereas cooperaciones and
remittances have come to be associated with migrants in Los Angeles, Mexico City, and
Oaxaca City, tequio has been relegated to individuals in the natal community. Today,
cooperaciones, remittances, and tequio combined constitute complementary components
of the social system. However, due to political conflict, changes in the economic
structure, and migration, there is often insufficient man power to complete the labor
(tequio) itself.
Notwithstanding the large flows of remittances, and the complementary flow of
cooperaciones, associated with new changes in Yalalag’s economic, social, and political
20
reality, linked to increasing transnational migration, and a desire for development.
However, tequio currently faces new challenges. In particular, the non-compensatory
nature of tequio has recently been contested. During my year of fiel