Constructing the Family

Abstract

Recent research on migrant settlement shows that women play an important role in consolidating migrant households and facilitating permanent settlement in migrant sites. Other studies demonstrate that government policies and legislation also determine the contours of migrant communities. A case study of a Maya migrant community in Cancún, Mexico, shows that state policies and the economic systems associated with an international tourist industry restrict the actual process of settlement to men and women who enter into a marriage contract, replicate the model of the “nuclear family,” and demonstrate good citizenship. This case suggests that the global economy and state policies play a key role in reifying gender relations in migrant communities.