Migration of Mexicans to Australia

Migration of Mexicans to Australia MONICA LAURA VAZQUEZ MAGGIO Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Social Sciences, University of New South Wales September 2013 Acknowledgements I would like to express my profound gratitude to a number of people who provided me with invaluable support throughout this entire PhD journey. I have been privileged to have two marvellous and supportive PhD supervisors. I am immensely grateful to my Social Sciences supervisor, Dr. Alan Morris, who guided me with his constant encouragement, valuable advice and enormous generosity. As a fresh new PhD student, full of excitement on my first days after I arrived in Australia, I remember encountering a recently graduated PhD student who, after I told her that my supervisor was Alan Morris, assured me I was in good hands. At that time, I had no idea of the magnitude of what she meant. Alan has truly gone above and beyond the role of a supervisor to guide me so brilliantly through this doctorate. He gracefully accepted the challenge of leading me in an entirely new discipline, as well as through the very challenging process of writing in a second language. Despite his vast commitments and enormous workload, Alan read my various manuscripts many times. I am also deeply thankful to my Economics supervisor, Dr. Peter Kriesler, for whom without his warm welcome, I would have not come to this country. I am extremely indebted to Peter for having put his trust in me before arriving in Australia and for giving me the opportunity to be part of this University. Peter’s constant challenging questions and ideas contributed to improving my work. I hope I have done some justice to his thoughtful input. My sincere thanks go to John Macaulay, my beloved and most devoted husband. His unconditional love and unwavering support are of paramount importance to me. Above all I thank John for his uncanny ability to get ordinary (and extraordinary!) life things done, which was so crucial most especially during my final months of writing this PhD. I dedicate my hard work to him. I thank my parents and my siblings for supporting my education and other pursuits for so, so many years. I am particularly thankful to my mother, Adelina, who throughout all my life has gone to extreme lengths to provide and support me and my siblings with our education. This finished product is a result of her long-term caring work, and my gratitude and dedication goes especially to her. i Being the youngest in my family, I have received enormous amounts of love and support from all my siblings in diverse ways, so I thank Eduardo, Elsa and Daniel for being wonderful to me. Daniel repeatedly called from Germany to ask “Is the thesis done yet?” I especially thank him for his incessant encouraging words and deeds which contributed to keeping me going till the end. My deepest thanks go to my two lifelong best friends Mercedes González and Marimar Saniger, who in their own unique ways have both supported me through the years with their invaluable friendship, which truly knows no distance. In them, I have never lacked a listening ear nor a laugh to share. Paulita Carrasco, Gisele Laris and Jimena Sánchez have also been amazing friends through the years and have patiently listened to my whining about this PhD. I would also like to thank my friends in Australia who have made the rollercoaster of this PhD journey bearable and at times fun. Christyana Bambacas not only was generous with her time and friendship, but also instructed me in navigating my way through my new institution and my new country. Cristina Wulfhorst kindly and liberally shared her knowledge, resources and networks with me. Cristina and I also shared so many things in common in our PhDs, which were either discussed over coffee or when puffing and panting on the gym’s treadmills. Her friendship and companionship made me recognise the importance of a great gym buddy to keep fit and sane during a PhD! Delphine Rabet encouraged and helped me in so many important ways, including finding me the perfect job during the last months before completing my thesis. Ioana Oprea’s hands-on help went a long way. Her statistical knowledge, passion and help always put me at ease whenever I hit brick walls with numbers. Cynthia Fernandez Roich’s conversations were much enjoyable, full of Argentine flavour. Rosalind Tan’s superior hospitality welcomed me into her house, her delectable cuisine made my mouth water every time, and our intellectual conversations kept me stimulated. I also thank so many people who also assisted me: Maribel Reyna Cruz, Olivier Jolicouer, Shaun Wilson, John Lamont, Harriet Westcott, and Dini Martínez helped me in so many valuable ways. I am especially grateful to Shelley Chapman for her enormous help. Her thoughtful reading, meaningful contributions, full engagement and patient editorial assistance allowed this thesis to be much more readable. Shelley’s perspicacious assistance ii as well as her hard and fast work contributed enormously to speeding this thesis to completion. As Australians say “Thanks heaps, Shelley!” I wish to thank the University of New South Wales for granting me with an Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship to carry out my PhD. I also acknowledge the generous financial support from the Secretaría de Educación Pública in Mexico. Finally, I am very grateful to my scientific mentors in Mexico who ultimately inspired me to reach for this high intellectual goal. Tobyanne Berenberg was and remains my role model for mentor and teacher. I also wish to mention León Bendesky, Gerardo Fujii, Julio López, Flor Brown, Lilia Domínguez, Clemente Ruiz and Antonio Ibarra, all of whom motivated me in their own ways to take the road of academic enquiry. iii Abstract Major economic changes in Mexico starting in the 1980s and intensifying in the 1990s, have had a significant impact on the lives of working class and middle class Mexicans. The central aim of the study is to analyse the migration of Mexicans to Australia. There has been no previous research on this topic. Almost all of the Mexicans who have migrated to Australia are middle class. Thus unlike most studies of Mexican migration which focus on the flight of the wealthy or the poor, this study has the middle class as its core focus. The middle class composition of these immigrants differentiates them from Mexican migration to the United States which tends to be dominated by unskilled and low-income households. The study draws on an extensive questionnaire survey (nearly 20 per cent of adult Mexicans residents in Australia responded) and 30 in-depth interviews. I examine the reasons for immigrating and for choosing Australia; the reasons why some migrants may return to or move to another destination, and the forms and degrees to which they continue to be engaged with their country of origin. I investigate the extent to which Mexicans feel “at home” in Australia and the features that facilitate or hinder their integration in the spheres of work, family and friendships. The study also explores the ways in which Mexicans experience leaving Mexico and relocating to Australia, and also how their middle class professional identity gives them the capacity to become mobile, cross- cultural, and cosmopolitan and allows them to integrate both socially and economically. The research found that this group of immigrants identify themselves as professionals, with white-collar jobs, university qualifications and English proficiency and are therefore able, with relative ease, to integrate into the mainstream of their host society. The study makes a contribution to the migration literature by addressing a new phenomenon of which we have very limited knowledge. The research identifies and examines a significant gap in migration studies – middle class migration. Hence, the investigation aims at providing comprehensive explanations as to what makes the immigration of middle class Mexicans to Australia a distinct phenomenon. iv Table of Contents List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... xi List of Appendices ............................................................................................................ xiii Chapter 1 – A short introduction ....................................................................................... 1 A brief contextual explanation: Mexico’s conditions for emigration ............................ 5 Thesis structure ............................................................................................................ 13 Chapter 2 – A theoretical framework for understanding middle class migration ....... 17 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 17 2.2 Who are the middle class?.......................................................................................... 17 2.3 Migration of the middle classes: Theories and approaches ....................................... 22 The neoclassical approach............................................................................................ 22 The new economics of migration ................................................................................. 23 The dual labour market theory ....................................................................................

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