Rural Mexico Research Articles

Longitudinal analysis and expected evolution of household fuel and stove stacking patterns in rural Mexico

We conducted a longitudinal analysis of the multiple stacking options that emerge from a “Patsari” clean woodburning cookstove dissemination program in rural Mexico, directed to households with-and-without previous access to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The analysis is based on Kitchen Performance Tests applied to 134 households belonging to 10 villages of Central Mexico, where household fuelwood consumption before-and-after the installation of the Patsari cookstove was measured. The analysis showed that: a) from the initial two categories of users (Open Fire and LPG) the adoption of Patsari stoves led to the emergence of six categories of users or stacking options (Patsari-alone; Patsari-LPG; Patsari-LPG-Open fire; Patsari-Open Fire; LPG-Open Fire; Open Fire-alone); b) when LPG is used in combination with open fires, there are negligible fuelwood savings; c) the largest reduction in emissions with regards to open fires is observed for the Patsari-only users (47.5%); and d) the adoption of Patsari cookstoves led to 39% fuel savings for exclusive fuelwood users and 48% for mixed LPG-fuelwood users. We conducted a Markov Chain analysis to explore the likely future evolution of user groups assuming a continuation of the Patsari stove implementation program. We found that instead of a smooth transition from open fires to Patsari stoves, 62% of the users within five years would be expected to stack different cooking devices, while 34% of the users would only use the Patsari cookstove. It is also expected that 19.63% of households will continue using the open fires either alone or in combination with other stoves.

Sustainability and community action: another view on ageing in rural Mexico

Sustainability and community action: another view on ageing in rural Mexico

Drivers of Livelihood Strategies: Evidence from Mexico’s Indigenous Rural Households

Mexico has the largest Indigenous population in the Americas and the most native languages in the region. These Indigenous peoples face a similar set of structural barriers to achieving more sustainable livelihoods, including criminal violence and huge hurdles to accumulating assets, in addition to their poverty. The purpose of this paper is to identify the main drivers of sustainable livelihood strategies in Indigenous households in rural Mexico. Using cluster analysis and a multinomial logit model based on a mixed approach that employs a traditional perspective of development alongside the sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA), our results suggest that a significant proportion of Indigenous households engage in livelihoods linked to the environment and nature, while only a small segment of households has been able to accumulate assets and adopt more profitable non-farming livelihoods. Our findings also reveal how the creation of human capital, the provision of basic services, and support to mitigate the effects of extreme weather all contribute to reducing risk for Indigenous households. The findings suggest that public policies must target these specific issues in order to solve structural problems that limit the efficacy with which Indigenous households use their family assets.

Preschoolers’ responses to prosocial opportunities during naturalistic interactions with peers: A cross‐cultural comparison

AbstractThe goal of this study was to better understand similarities and differences in preschool children's expression of needs and prosocial responsiveness to peers’ needs across two culturally distinct contexts. Preschoolers were observed in a semi‐naturalistic design across rural Mexico and urban Canada, wherein they were instructed to build a tower with blocks. Three‐ to 6‐year‐olds (N = 306; 48% female) were divided into 64 peer groups. We coded for children's expression of needs (instrumental, material, or emotional), responses to prosocial opportunities (prosociality, denial, or no response), prosociality without an apparent need (spontaneous prosociality), and types of prosocial behavior (helping, sharing, or comforting). While instrumental and material needs were expressed similarly across both samples, Tzotzil Maya children expressed fewer emotional needs than Canadian children. Failing to respond to others’ needs, followed by denial, were the most frequent need‐provoked response in both countries; surprisingly, only 9% of needs received a prosocial response. Though need‐provoked prosociality was rare in both cultural contexts, children engaged in considerable spontaneous prosociality which varied as a function of age, gender, and cultural context. Lastly, Canadian more than Tzotzil Maya children denied emotional and instrumental needs (but not material needs). The findings inform how cultural practices may shape the presentation of needs and prosocial responsiveness in peer interactions.

Peripheralization, Ejidos and Agricultural Livelihoods in Intermediate Mexican Cities: The Importance of Collective Agency to Reduce Vulnerabilities

This paper focuses on the interactions between peripheralization, vulnerabilities of agricultural livelihoods, and local collective agency in the creation of new capabilities in intermediate cities. It discusses the theoretical implications of a study conducted in the municipality of Tarímbaro, part of the intermediate city of Morelia, Mexico; it expands on results already published in preliminary form. The unit of analysis was the ejido, since this type of social land tenure, granted to landless peasants in 1917 after the Mexican Revolution, is one of the most important forms of social organization in rural Mexico. About one-half of the Mexican territory comprises >30,000 community-based land tenures (mainly ejidos), and a high proportion of the land now occupied by urban centers was ejido land. This paper uses the example of 15 ejidos, notably affected by the expansion of Morelia city, to illustrate how local (rural) organizations can foster collective agency to reduce differential vulnerabilities in peri-urban agricultural livelihoods in intermediate cities. In 2015, a semi-structured interview was undertaken with the president of each ejido, followed by a survey of 61 individuals from 11 of the 15 ejidos. The peripheralization of Morelia has produced inequalities in the adjacent municipality of Tarímbaro. Differential vulnerabilities in peri-urban agricultural livelihoods were found in the participant ejidos. Not all the ejidos have been successful in addressing vulnerabilities associated with urbanization of agricultural land, but those who have achieved some success have certain characteristics that reinforce common values and motivations to establish common goals to sustain local livelihoods. This paper highlights the importance of functional (rural) organizations in regulating access to, and distribution of, resources in the peripheries of intermediate cities.

Archaeology, Wage Labor, and Kinship in Rural Mexico, 1934–1974

Abstract This article assesses the relationships between archaeology and wage labor in twentieth-century Mexico through an analysis of governmental payroll records from El Tajín, Veracruz. For Indigenous Totonac workers, the long-term presence of archaeological labor provided opportunities for income and social mobility in a context of dispossession and proletarianization while contributing to socioeconomic stratification. In a region where the traditional agricultural base declined during the twentieth century, participation in wage labor provided a source of regular cash income and opportunities for skill development and social mobility. Participation, however, depended on intermediaries and their kin and social networks, meaning that not all had access. The analysis suggests that state-run archaeology must be understood in practical and economic terms as well as in a regional context.

Interpersonal challenges in surgical care provision in rural Mexico: A qualitative study

Chiapas is among the states with the lowest access to health care in Mexico. A better understanding of the role of interpersonal relationships in referral systems could improve access to care in the region. The purpose of this study was to analyze the underlying barriers and facilitators to accessing surgical care at public hospitals run by the Ministry of Health in Chiapas. In this qualitative interview study, we performed semi-structured interviews with 19 surgical patients and 18 healthcare workers at three public hospitals in the Fraylesca Region of Chiapas to explore barriers and facilitators to successfully accessing surgical treatment. Transcripts were coded and analyzed using an inductive, thematic approach to data analysis. The five major themes identified as barriers to surgical care were dehumanization of patients, the toll of rehumanizing patients, animosity in the system, the refraction of violence onto patients, and poor resource coordination. Three themes identified as facilitators to receiving care were teamwork, social capital, and accompaniment. Health care workers described a culture of demoralization and mistrust within the health system worsened by a scarcity of resources. As a result, patient care is hampered by conflict, miscommunication, and feelings of dehumanization. Efforts to improve access to surgical care in the region should consider strategies to improve teamwork and expand patient accompaniment. Harvard University and the Abundance Fund provided funding for this project. Funding sources had no role in the writing of the manuscript or decision to submit it for publication.Resumen. Chiapas es uno de los estados en Mexico con el menor acceso a la atención médica, y a los servicios quirúrgicos. Una mejor comprensión del papel de las relaciones interpersonales en los sistemas de referencias podría mejorar el acceso a la atención medica en la región. El objetivo del estudio es analizar las barreras y facilitadores para acceder a la atención quirúrgica en los hospitales públicos pertenecientes a la Secretaria de Salud del estado de Chiapas. En este estudio cualitativo, realizamos entrevistas semiestructuradas con 19 pacientes quirúrgicos y 18 trabajadores de la salud en tres hospitales públicos en la región de la Frailesca de Chiapas para explorar barreras y facilitadores para acceder al tratamiento quirúrgico. Las transcripciones se codificaron y analizaron utilizando un enfoque temático. Las cinco barreras principales identificadas fueron la deshumanización de los pacientes, el costo a re humanizar pacientes, la animosidad en el sistema, la refracción de la violencia sobre los pacientes y la mala coordinación de recursos. Tres facilitadores para recibir cirugía fueron el trabajo en equipo, el capital social, y el acompañamiento. Los trabajadores de la salud describieron una cultura de desmoralización y desconfianza en el sistema de salud que se agrava con la escasez de recursos. Como resultado se obtiene, conflicto, falta de comunicación, y sentimientos de deshumanización que empeoran la atención al paciente. Recomendaciones para mejorar el acceso a los servicios quirúrgicos en la región incluyen estrategias para mejorar el trabajo en equipo y ampliar el acompañamiento de los pacientes. La Universidad de Harvard y the Abundance Fund proporcionaron fondos para este proyecto. Las fuentes de financiamiento no influyen en la redacción ni en la publicación del manuscrito.

Participatory Action Research for the assessment of Community-Based Rural Tourism: a case study of co-construction of tourism sustainability indicators in Mexico

ABSTRACT Research about Community-Based Rural Tourism (CBRT) shows that participation of local stakeholders is a key factor in the pursuit of sustainability and supports the idea of using collaborative methods like Participatory Action Research (PAR) with local initiatives to address management and planning issues. This paper describes a case study in which tourism sustainability indicators (SIs) for a CBRT initiative were constructed through PAR with a group of women in rural Mexico. It reconstructs the steps and the process through which the indicators were established and implemented, and proposes a critical analysis of the assessment and its impacts on the group. The findings show that, provided that the SIs are adapted to the rural context, the co-construction of tourism SIs has led to assess the tourism activity using criteria adapted to the women’s needs and vision. The PAR process encouraged collective action, horizontal dialogue and made more visible the inter-relations and power relations between the stakeholders, demonstrating the potential for collaboration and empowerment in a transdisciplinary perspective.

The COVID-19 Pandemic, the Crisis of Care, and Mexican Immigrants in the United States

In the transition from Fordist to flexible accumulation in the last decades of the twentieth century, social reproduction was externalized onto families and communities. In the United States, this “crisis of care” was mitigated by the incorporation of illegalized Mexican immigrants’ low-cost reproductive labor in private and public services. From a feminist perspective on social reproduction and migration, we argue that the impacts of the COVID-19 economic crisis on Mexican immigrant communities were related to the specific ways that immigrants’ labor was incorporated into the circuits of social reproduction. Drawing on interviews with migrants from rural central Mexico in the United States, we analyze how immigrants absorbed the worst effects of the crisis by cheapening their labor, transferring unpaid reproductive labor to other household members, and engaging in informalized activities. Anti-immigrant policies exacerbated the precarious situations of undocumented immigrants and mixed-status Mexican families during the pandemic.

Household and Regional Determinants of Child Stunting in Rural Mexico

Household and Regional Determinants of Child Stunting in Rural Mexico

Association of co-occurring mental health problems with hepatitis C status among young people who inject drugs in rural New Mexico, 2016–2018

BackgroundInjection drug use (IDU) remains the strongest risk factor for hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the United States. HCV rates are increasing in rural areas among young adult people who inject drugs (PWID). People with HCV and PWID have disproportionate rates of mental health problems; however, it is unclear whether risky injection behaviors mediate the association between mental health problems and HCV. We examined the association between mental health problems and HCV in a rural cohort of young adult PWID, with the goal of informing rural service delivery.MethodsWe conducted a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from a convenience sample of young adult PWID in 2 rural counties in New Mexico. Participants were recruited from 2 community venues between September 2016 and May 2018. Associations between mental health problems and HCV were examined using bivariate (Fisher’s exact) and multivariable modified Poisson regression analyses (with robust standard errors). Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we assessed duration of IDU and receptive syringe sharing (RSS) as mediators of this relationship.ResultsA total of 263 patients were enrolled, with a median age of 26.1 years. The majority were male (66.3%) and Hispanic/Latino (a) (87.6%). The median age first injected was 19 years, and over half reported having ever engaged in RSS (53.4%). At least one mental health problem was reported by 60.1% of participants, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) being the most prevalent condition (42.2%). A majority (60.9%) tested positive for HCV antibody, and just under half (45.7%) of all participants tested positive for HCV ribonucleic acid. In SEM, PTSD had a significant total effect on HCV (τ = 0.230, P = 0.05), and this relationship was partially mediated by duration of IDU (αβ = 0.077, P = 0.03). The association between mental health problems and HCV was partially mediated by duration of IDU and the sequential mediation of duration of IDU and RSS (αβ + αββ = 0.091, P = 0.05).ConclusionsHigh HCV rates among young adult PWID in rural New Mexico may be partly explained by mental health problems, duration of IDU and RSS. Mental health services for young adult PWID in rural areas may help decrease HCV transmission in rural areas.Trial Registration N/A.

Malestares en cuidadoras de personas adultas mayores dependientes en un contexto rural de Tlaxcala, México

Based on the experiences of women caregivers, we reflect in this paper on the discomforts and the symptoms that arise from them, which they associate with caregiving, considering that the inequalities of caring are centered in specific sociocultural contexts. A qualitative methodology with topic narrative research design is used. The data collection was done through in-depth interviews. One of the contradictions of caregiving is that women feel the duty to take care of another person, and in this way, they normalize it. Considering the findings of this study, it seems that in rural Mexico, female caregivers have no choice: in a patriarchal sex-gender system it is only possible to resist the overwhelming burden of caregiving through love and gratitude, regardless of taking care of themselves.

Development of an eHealth Nursing Intervention on Self-Care to Prevent Diabetic Foot in Rural Mexico: A Pilot Test.

Diabetic foot affects nearly 6% of people living with Type 2 diabetes (T2D). It is also the most common complication of T2D and is associated with infection, ulceration. eHealth facilitation of Non-communicable diseases management has the potential to increase self-care and engage patients. The aim of this study is to develop an eHealth intervention to prevent diabetic foot.

Examining gender inequalities in factors associated with income poverty in Mexican rural households.

According to 2016 official estimates, almost 60% of the rural population in Mexico (16.9 million people) had income levels below the poverty line, and approximately 29.2% (8.3 million) could not even afford the basic food basket. Whereas most poverty research disregards gender and exclusively analyzes average income or the expected probability of being poor, we depart from these approaches by examining the effect of potential risk factors on two of the lowest quantiles of income-to-poverty ratio distribution, namely the corresponding to poor and extremely poor families. Focusing on identifying heterogeneous effects according to the sex of the household head, we apply additive quantile models to a cross-sectional dataset containing information on 4,434 women-headed and 14,877 men-headed households. For each model, we introduce 45 variables at the individual/household, community, and regional levels. Two major contributions emerge from this paper. First, the identification of a subset of significant factors whose effect is independent of the head's sex and is relevant for poor and extremely poor families. This is found for the variables credit card ownership, access to basic housing services, education level, and satisfaction with public services. Second, results also identify a subset of significant factors with an uneven effect on income according to the sex of the head that is observed both in the poor and extremely poor households. Variables having this gendered effect are the community's income inequality, municipal human development, social networks, access to social security, and gender-based violence against women in the public sphere. Out of these, particularly relevant is the effect of the last three factors, whose association with income has not been explored before for rural Mexico and for which the bias among sexes increases as family income grows from extreme poverty to poverty level.

Welfare effects of an in-kind transfer program: Evidence from Mexico

This paper proposes an approach for ex-ante welfare analysis under in-kind transfers based on demand system estimation and construction of virtual prices (i.e., the prices at which beneficiaries would be as well off as with the subsidy). As an application of this approach, I study a program which randomly transferred either a food basket, procured at a discount in wholesale markets, or an equal-cost cash transfer to poor households in rural Mexico. I find large welfare-destroying distortions from the food basket, corresponding on average to 35% of its face value. Efficiency losses are larger for more vulnerable recipients, as the transfer provided relatively large allotments of commodities consumed in lower shares by the poor. Counterfactual simulations providing better-targeted food transfers suggest that average welfare gains could be enhanced by up to 38% as compared to the cash subsidy, while also reducing the regressivity of the food transfer.

A Look into Women’s Preventative Care, Contraception Practices and Cesarean Delivery Rates in Rural Guanajuato, Mexico in Comparison to the United States

Statement of Significance According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a third of health issues for women aged 15 and 44 years are sexual and reproductive health problems with unsafe sex practices being a major risk factor.1 Additionally, “every day in 2017, approximately 810 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.”2 Although there have been improvements in prenatal and postpartum care, these benefits do not extend worldwide. Cervical and breast cancer represent additional issues in women’s health wherein adequate preventative medicine can dramatically improve patient outcomes. Our findings provide insight into the use of accessible contraception, preventive screenings, and cesarean deliveries based on the self-reported experience of a rural population near Guanajuato, Mexico. The results stand to inform future research and public health efforts in the region aiming to improve knowledge and use of contraception, investigate increasing cesarean delivery rates, and improve screening rates for cervical and breast cancer. Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate preventative screening for breast and cervical cancer, contraceptive practices, and cesarean section rates for women in rural Guanajuato Mexico. Understanding this data is important because such accessibility and healthcare practices can influence the safety of this population’s lives as well as provide insight to the impact of public healthcare programs. Methods: A twenty-one question oral survey was administered to both male and female participants of health fairs and screenings in seven rural communities around the cities of Juventino Rosas and San Miguel de Allende. The survey covered diet and exercise habits as well as women’s health topics for participants who self-identified as female. Women’s health topics included questions about mammography & Papanicolaou test (Pap test) history as well as contraception use and cesarean section history. Results: A total of 155 participants. Mean respondent age was 46 years and a majority of respondents were female (81%, n = 155). Of female respondents, almost half reported a previous cesarean section. More women in the younger cohort (aged <50 years) reported a history of cesarean section compared to the older cohort (aged >50 years), but not at a level of statistical significance. Almost half of the women of childbearing age denied contraception utilization. Most women (72%, n = 110) reported a Pap test within the past five years and about a third had one within the past year. Of the women aged >40 years, almost half had not received mammography. Conclusions: Younger women appeared more likely to have had at least one cesarean delivery than older women, but the sample size provided inadequate power for statistical significance. Access to contraception did not appear to be a barrier to contraception utilization in this region, an important finding for future investigations of associated topics, such as rates of unplanned pregnancies or the spread of communicable sexual diseases. Though the Pap test rates were comparable to that of the United States, mammogram rates lagged. Further studies should investigate increasing cesarean delivery rates in rural Guanajuato, Mexico, strategies to increase education regarding contraceptive modalities, and approaches to improve screening and treatment of cervical and breast cancer.

Functions of social networks in maternal food choice for children in Mexico.

Food choice for children has important implications in establishing early‐life dietary habits and preferences. Food choice for children has been studied as parent–child dyad dynamics, but little is known about the extended system of relationships in maternal food choice for children. The objective of this study was to understand the functions of mothers' social networks in the food choices that mothers make for their children ages 1 to 5 years old in rural Mexico. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 46 participants in three rural communities. The interviews inquired about participants' child‐feeding practices, personal and local beliefs about child feeding and the individuals with whom they had conversations about food and child feeding. All interviews were conducted in Spanish, audio‐recorded, transcribed verbatim, verified for quality and analysed using the constant comparative method. Five interconnected networks emerged, consisting of household family, non‐household family, community, children's initial school and health and nutritional programme personnel. Each network had functions in food choice that ranged from shared food decision‐making in the household family network to imparting formal dietary guidance in the health and nutritional programme personnel network. Across the networks, professionals, participants' mothers and mothers‐in‐law, community senior women and other women with children emerged as prominent figures whom participants would turn to for child‐feeding advice. These findings provide empirical evidence that social networks, as an organized system of interconnected relationships, have vital functions in establishing social norms for food choices made for children that can be leveraged to promote healthy food choices.

How does urbanization affect perceptions and traditional knowledge of medicinal plants?

BackgroundThe use and knowledge of medicinal plants play an essential role in community health in rural Mexico. Medicinal plants are part of the local heritage and provide a source of economic income. Nevertheless, knowledge of their use has declined due to factors like accelerated urbanization. Some authors have proposed that by reducing natural spaces, urbanization generates changes that impact the recognition, use, and management of natural resources. Here, we evaluate how urbanization affects the knowledge, use, and perception of medicinal plants in a Biosphere Reserve in Mexico.MethodsUsing a mixed methodology including quantitative and qualitative analyses, we generated a list of medicinal plants, methods of preparation, prevalence of illness, and use in two communities with different degrees of urbanization.ResultsA total of 217 medicinal plants were identified. The more urbanized community had greater knowledge of, and used, a larger number of introduced plant species, while the less urbanized community used and had more knowledge about wild plants. One of the factors explaining these differences was occupation, with people who work outdoors showing greater knowledge of wild plants.ConclusionsUrbanization can lead to a loss of knowledge of the use and management of local wild species, with implications for the conservation of biocultural heritage. Substitution of native medicinal plants by introduced species shows disinterest and disuse in the local medicinal flora, which could be reflected in their ecosystems.

Spillovers and Social Interaction Effects in the Demand for Preventive Healthcare: Evidence from the PROGRESA program

This paper exploits the randomized research design of a large welfare program–PROGRESA–to study the existence in rural Mexico of spillover effects in the propensity to screen for gender- and non-gender-specific conditions. I find significant evidence of increased demand for Papanicolaou cervical-cancer screening among women ineligible for the Conditional Cash Transfer, yet no evidence of similar externalities in non-gender specific tests, such as blood-pressure and blood-sugar checks. Certain pieces of evidence are suggestive of the weakening of the social norm related to husbands’ opposition to screening of their wives as one of the possible drivers of the indirect effect.

Intimate Partner Violence and Structural Violence in the Lives of Incarcerated Women: A Mixed-Method Study in Rural New Mexico.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a common feature in the lives of incarcerated women returning to rural communities, enhancing their risk of mental ill-health, substance use, and recidivism. Women’s experiences of IPV intersect with challenges across multiple social–ecological levels, including risky or criminalizing interpersonal relationships, geographic isolation, and persistent gender, racial, and economic inequities. We conducted quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with 99 incarcerated women in New Mexico who were scheduled to return to micropolitan or non-core areas within 6 months. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed separately and then triangulated to identify convergences and divergences in data. The findings underscore how individual and interpersonal experiences of IPV, substance use, and psychological distress intersect with broad social inequities, such as poverty, lack of supportive resources, and reluctance to seek help due to experiences of discrimination. These results point to the need for a more proactive response to the mutually constitutive cycle of IPV, mental distress, incarceration, and structures of violence to improve reentry for women returning to rural communities. Policy and treatment must prioritize socioeconomic marginalization and expand community resources with attention to the needs of rural women of color.