Social Change and Population Mobility in the Border Region of Chiapas

Draws on several sources of official data in order to profile contemporary indigenous migrants populating the urban centers of Comitan & Las Margaritias, Mexico, two cities along the border between the state of Chiapas & Guatemala. The urban zones of Comitan & Las Margaritias have absorbed a 40% increase in population from indigenous migrants from rural surroundings on both sides of the border since 1980. This population has chosen to forego hopes of land reform benefits for the sake of forming an urban-based ethnic community. Returning to their Mayan languages & adopting liberation theology Catholicism & forms of Protestantism promoting cultural independence, these communities suffer intense socioeconomic drawbacks of compressed urban dwelling in order to participate in a cultural cohesion that offers some respite from the ongoing violence of Chiapan-Guatemalan border conflicts. 2 Tables, 25 References. Adapted from the source document.