After months of silence, PSN (this blog, that is) is coming back to life. No estaba muerto, ¡andaba de parranda terminando una beca, mudándose and so much on!
Anyway, now that I finished the Knight Fellowship at Stanford and came back to real life (Austin and the rest of the world, where PCs are the standard and not everyone around is holding an iPhone), I'm glad to resume my blogging about what Mexicans abroad are doing out there, in the world beyond la línea, la terminal 4 del AICM, et cetera, et cetera.
During these months I was thinking about why, how and if I should continue with this blog at all. The main reason to launch this blog in March 2007 was to explore the reasons behind the increasing migration of Mexican young professionals to Western countries, and I wondered if I had already found some answers.
After dozens of posts, interviews and PSN questionnaires received, I think I have (roughly) reached five (somehow rock-solid) conclusions:
1. Most of us left Mexico voluntarily, looking for a better future abroad. Most of us did not leave Mexico for financial reasons.
2. Most of us have gained in quality of life, but in most cases have lost some of the privileges we were pampered with while living and growing up in Mexico. Most of us, though, don't miss that (terribly) and consider the trade-off a good one.
3. Most of us have other friends who are also living abroad, but most of our relatives remain in Mexico.
4. Most of us would like to go back to Mexico only if the country would evolve (in so many ways) and could offer us what we gained by living abroad. Most of us haven't quit to the homecoming ideal, but most of us have come to terms with the possibility of never moving back to Mexico.
5. Most of us think the diaspora we represent won't have any consequence in Mexico's future. Most of us think people don't care nor talk about this phenomenon in Mexico--or abroad, I'd add. And we don't make much of it, by the way.
While the exploration of the reasons and consequences for this educated- middle-class-driven migration (brain drainage is other fancy title we could give to it) is far from being concluded--David Luna, egregious journalist from Grupo Expansión and a former Innovation Journalism Fellow at Stanford himself, is conducting a formal research on the matter for once--I think this blogging space could still be useful as a sounding board and to-go place for all things Mexican-professionals-abroad.
So, Mexicans out there, let me know what you guys are up to these days, keep spreading the word about PSN as you so generously have done so in the past or simply drop me a line and have your say.
Abrazos,
Antonio
2 comments:
Hola Antonio,
Mi nombre es Ever, y nos conocimos brevemente durante la presentación de David Luna aquí en Stanford.
For the most part I agree with your conclusions, however, conclusion number five seems to be the one begging for either further study or conclusive and statistical data. I know a few compatriotas who are actively working toward making a difference in Mexico from here--however small their efforts might be. And I, even though my contributions have been minimal to almost insignificant, still wouldn't settle with the (suspected) majority who think that we will be inconsequential to the present and future of Mexico.
I, and perhaps the rest of your readership, would be interested in finding out if you consider yourself within the "most of us" suspected majority who think our diaspora won't have any consequences, or if you are one of those dormant nodes who would walk the walk when and if the walkathon ever gets organized.
Un abrazo, y suerte con la continuación del blog.
Ever ~ ~
Hola, solo quería comentar que todo el mundo migra, hasta antes de la crisis venían a México muchos alemanes, por cierto con la clara tendencia de casarse con poblanas y mujeres de clase media, y mucho francés, AHora mismo los franceses, y alemanes también dejan a su país, en fin solo queria comentar que la MIGRACIÓn es un fenómeno global.
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