Women and Migration in Latin America
One of ISIS' Brazilian colleagues, Danda Prado, has written the following article on Latin America specifically for this issue. It is translated from French.
Latin America is the only region in the developing world where there are more female than male migrants. This is principally due to the absence of work for women in the
countryside, as well as the growing reliance on industrially- produced consumer goods, which has deprived women of some of their traditional occupations. Thus, Coca-Cola has replaced artisanally-produced fruit juices, coconut drinks and fermented rice beverages, for example. The corn, yucca and black bean tortillas which used to accompany meals have been replaced by bread. Paperbacks and advertising, which transmit North American values, have made these eating habits seem old fashioned, even folkloric.
Furthermore, the big projects aimed at integrating marginal populations into the economy seek to improve the incomes of men, not women, on the basis of a traditional view of the division of labour within the family, according to which it is the man who works outside the home.
The migration of women is also a result of the lesser control exercised by families over young girls — in comparison to the Islamic world, for instance. Very often, parents either count on the economic support they can expect from daughters who find work in the city or are at least grateful that there is one less mouth to feed.
There is also the lure of the big city, with its different way of life, the dream of being able to receive vocational training, cheap distractions, etc. Modern means of communication - press, TV, radio - reach the most remote areas these days, even places where there is no electricity, and transmit an idealised picture of big city life.
I have chosen examples of female migration which focus on certain regions, but certainly other very similar ones could be found.
Mexico - "the Marias"
For the last few years, the sidewalks of Mexico City have been invaded by women that the local population call "the Marias" or, sometimes, "the Juanas". They are migrant
Indian women, who, dressed in traditional garb and speaking pidgin Spanish, work as street sellers, or rather hawkers.
They are often seen with babies on their backs and their other children gathered around them. They sell fruit, cakes, various grains and sometimes chewing gum. Their
"work" is a glorified form of begging.
These women work all day, come rain or shine, without protection or access to running water, and subject to attacks from small shopkeepers, who resent their competition and the fact that they do not have to pay taxes. There is no social insurance or medical help available to "the Marias", no statutory hours of work or holidays. Sometimes they are picked up by the police and forced to spend the night in the police station, along with their children.
Two-thirds of these women have been estimated' to have husbands or male companions who keep an eye on them from a distance. A man states: "When I saw that most of
the men who sold their wares around here were using their wives to do the peddling, I decided I would have to do the same, on the days when I couldn't find work... Usually,
we're proud of ourselves for putting our women to work on the streets, but it would be shameful to have a woman who worked as a domestic".
It should be pointed out here that this fellow will never find work, since he spends his time "watching over" his wife in order to "protect" her. Nor will he take care of the children: on the contrary, having the kids around his wife arouses public compassion. And, it's certain that when they get home, it's the wife who does the cooking and cleaning. The men's notion about allowing their wives to work as domestics also deserves a closer look: one of the main reasons is probably that it would lessen the women's dependence on them.
These women street hawkers are in reality tools of their men. Here, a further note should be added. This exploitation of women is not confined to Indians. Thirty per cent
of the heads of white, half-caste and black Latin American families are women, either married or single. They are the homemakers. The men have professions, such as fishermen, construction labourers, agricultural workers, etc., but it is the women who have to scratch around to find money for household expenses. The men spend money on other women and liquor in order to keep up their social image, which reduces their already meager take-home pay. Further in the Indian or half-caste villages ("ejidales" in Mexico) land is not passed on to women, which discourages widows and single mothers from remaining in the countryside.
Brazil - The "boia fria" ("cold lunch people")
This phenomenon is also recent, and is becoming more and more common in the state of Sao Paulo (the country's richest). The "boia fria" are men and women who rent themselves out for agricultural labour, by the day or by the job. They comprise one of the lowest paid job categories in the country (they fall into the 4% of the working population who earn 20% less than the national minimum wage).
It goes without saying that a large number of these workers are women, who have less chance to learn modern skills, who find it more difficult to acquire, for example, identification papers or work permits, and who must spend a good share of their time working at home. This field work allows them to earn some money, but leaves them free to return to their home duties when they are obliged to.
Generally, it is truck owners who bring this cheap labour together and transport them wherever they are in demand. The workday lasts for 10 to 12 hours. The workers get a half hour to eat the lunch they have brought, without any means to heat it up — hence their nickname — and a 15 minute coffee break at 3 o'clock. Sometimes, the food goes off and there have been cases of workers passing out from hunger. In one instance, the body of a female worker was found on a plantation four to five days after disappearing.
Neither the truck owners nor the plantation owners have any legal responsibility for these female labourers. They have no access to social insurance or medical assistance.
We are not dealing here with seasonal migration, since the women are transported to wherever there is work to be done, no matter how far away from home. Often, they spend two or three nights en route, badly lodged in communal huts.
Because they are moved about so frequently, the female "boia fria" do not often form work relationships or friendships with other workers; thus they are unable to find ways to secure further training or other jobs and organize along with others to struggle for their rights or better working conditions.
Servants, domestics and maids
These are the occupations that enjoy the least social prestige in Latin America. However, two out of three Latin American women who emigrate to find work end up in these job categories. The region has the world's highest percentage of household employees.
Often, parents place one or two daughters at an early age with a family somewhat better off that has only sons. A well-placed daughter becomes a link in a chain of obligations upon the host family. School books, baby clothes, wedding gowns, occasional work for the girl's family, various letters of recommendation, etc., are often the reward for her services.
The working conditions vary from employer to employer. Often, domestics are expected to be available 24 hours a day. Sexual abuse by the young men of the house or even the master is common (although not talked about). If a domestic becomes pregnant and does not have a family in the provinces which will accept the child, her possibilities of finding a better position, or improving her earnings, are reduced. These "errors" often lead to traumatic clandestine abortions, or to prostitution. The feeling of isolation, the need for affection, make domestics easy prey for sexual exploiters of all sorts. The "dream job" for these women is one which holds the promise of professional training, as a seamstress, hairdresser, manicurist, or even a secretary.
There are also young women who take jobs with the families of workers or small shopkeepers in the city in exchange for meals and a room. This is how they integrate themselves into urban life. However, this sort of experience does not prepare them for the better domestic posts. The middle classes demand servants who have "been around" more, who know how to use an electric stove, running water or a telephone.
In several Latin American countries, domestic work is covered by labour legislation. However, this is difficult to apply, given the laxness of most employers. As well, domestics often become attached to employers, either for sentimental reasons or in expectation of favours for themselves or their families, and thus are not easily convinced to stand up for better conditions of employment.
The most unfortunate are those women who seek domestic work in foreign countries. Thousands of women leave Ecuador, Colombia and Panama each year to find domestic jobs in Venezuela, for example. Most enter the country illegally. Once there, they have no choice but to accept whatever is offered them. Further, should they make demands for better wages or conditions or even ask for prompt payment of what is due them, they risk being turned over to the police*.
These women lead miserable lives; most of what they earn is sent home. Oftentimes, they are "heads of families", despite the distance separating them from husband and kids. They dream of someday building a house with their earnings, so as to finish their lives back home.
Much of this section is based on Lourdes Arizpe's "indigenes en la ciudad de IVIexico: el caso de las IVIarias" ("Indians in Mexico City: the case of the Marias").
This section draws on Maria Mello's " 0 boia fria: acumilacao e miseria" ("The cold lunch people: capital accumulation and misery").
N. Youssef, "Women and Worl< in Developing Countries".
Elisabeth Jelin, "Migracion a las cludades y participacion en la fuerza de trabajo de las mujeres latino-americanas: el caso del servicio domestico", Estudios sociales, no. 4 ("The Migration to Cities and Participation in the Labour Force of Latin American Women: the Case of Domestic Servants", Social Studies, No. 4)
