Community and transnational economic circuits in Oaxacalifornia

Abstract

This research analyzes the economic circuits that the Oaxacan community has generated in Los Angeles, highlighting the importance of the resignification of the community imaginary in the consolidation of ethnic-based business networks. In methodological terms, this qualitative research is based on a documentary review about migratory studies of native peoples (from a transnationalist perspective), as well as interviews and testimonies of key informants to make visible the economic boom of Oaxacan businesses in the Metropolitan Area of Los Angeles. Emphasis is placed on how the implementation of a “Oaxacan” daily life -for three generations- has allowed the consolidation of various binational enterprises that connect communities and localities of origin with numerous Californian neighborhoods with a high Oaxacan presence.

Keywords:
popular economies; transnational migratory circuits; Oaxacan community; indigenous enterprises