We Came for the Cartilla but We Stayed for the Tortilla: Enlisting in the Military as a Form of Migration for Zapotec Men

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-4-2019

Publication Title

Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology

Volume

24

Issue

3

First page number:

617

Last page number:

634

Abstract

In recent years there have been extensive academic and public discussions about theMexican military, yet we know little about the lives of soldiers who are part the Mexicanarmy. This article analyzes the experiences of Zapotec men in the Mexican army, es-tablishing two main points: (1) the relationship between indigenous communities andthe Mexican military is intertwined and connected to larger political and economicphenomena; and (2) the experiences of indigenous soldiers should be analyzed notonly in occupational terms but as a form of m igration. In relation to this second point,I conclude that there are significant parallelisms and connections between the experience of enlisting in the military and of transnational migration.

Keywords

Mexican military; Indigenous soldiers; Migration; Oaxaca; Mexico

Disciplines

Migration Studies | Social and Behavioral Sciences | Sociology

Language

English

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