THE PARADOX OF CROSS-BORDER POLITICS IN MEXICO LAUREN DUQUETTE-RURY EXIT AND VOICE Luminos is the Open Access monograph publishing program from UC Press. Luminos provides a framework for preserving and reinvigorating monograph publishing for the future and increases the reach and visibility of important scholarly work. Titles published in the UC Press Luminos model are published with the same high standards for selection, peer review, production, and marketing as those in our traditional program. www.luminosoa.org Exit and Voice Exit and Voice The Paradox of Cross-Border Politics in Mexico Lauren Duquette-Rury UNIVERSIT Y OF CALIFORNIA PRESS University of California Press Oakland, California © 2020 by Lauren Duquette-Rury This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND license. To view a copy of the license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses. Suggested citation: Duquette-Rury, L. Exit and Voice: The Paradox of Cross- Border Politics in Mexico . Oakland: University of California Press, 2020. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/luminos.84 Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Duquette-Rury, Lauren, author. Title: Exit and voice : the paradox of cross-border politics in Mexico / Lauren Duquette-Rury. Description: Oakland, California : University of California Press, [2020] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019024344 (print) | LCCN 2019024345 (ebook) | ISBN 9780520321960 (paperback) | ISBN 9780520974203 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Transnationalism—Political aspects—Mexico. | Mexican Americans—Political activity. | Immigrants—Political activity. Classification: LCC JV7402 .D86 2020 (print) | LCC JV7402 (ebook) | DDC 304.80972—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019024344 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019024345 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Aaron, Maxwell, and baby Finn with love C ontents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1. Local Democratic Governance and Transnational Migrant Participation 29 2. Decentralization, Democratization, and the Feedback Effects of Sending State Outreach 47 3. Micro-Politics of Substitutive and Synergetic Partnerships 70 4. Effects of Violence and Economic Crisis on Hybrid Transnational Partnerships 101 5. Synergy and Corporatism in El Mirador and Atitlan, Comarga 130 6. Systematic Effects of Transnational Partnerships on Local Governance 160 Conclusion: The Paradox of Cross-Border Politics 191 Data Appendix A: Comparative Fieldwork in Mexico 209 Data Appendix B: Transnational Matched Survey Data Instrument 215 Data Appendix C: Principal Component and Cluster Analysis Using Survey Data 218 viii Contents Data Appendix D: Mexican Panel Data, Mexican Family Life Survey, and Statistical Analyses 224 Notes 241 Bibliography 257 Index 275 ix Illustrations F IG U R E S 1. 3x1 Program sign, Guanajuato 2 2. Structural organization of transnational coproduction 42 3. 3x1 Program project groundbreaking ceremony, Ahuacatl 120 4. 3x1 Program concrete vehicle bridge project, Atitlan 136 5. Marginal effect of cumulative 3x1 participation on voter turnout and government responsiveness 182 6. Marginal effect of cumulative 3x1 participation and civic engagement on voter turnout and government responsiveness 184 7. Distribution of cases by transnational partnership type 210 8. Elbow method displaying four stable clusters 221 9. Voter turnout trend by treatment and control 229 M A P 1. Location of field research sites 25 xi Acknowled gments A theme that runs through this book is changing conceptualizations of commu- nity, collective action, and the transcendence of physical space where social rela- tionships take root, grow, and blossom into something else entirely. I owe a debt of gratitude to my mentors, advisors, friends, family, and migrant confidants in the United States and Mexico who showed me a new meaning of community and working together while I researched and wrote this book. I appreciate the unwavering support of Steven Wilkinson (Yale University) and John Padgett (University of Chicago) for empowering me to follow my intuition. Although neither of them studied international migration, they cared about me and my ideas and encouraged me to find my own path. Forging my own path ultimately led me to sociology, but the unparalleled training I received in political science at Chicago continues to ground my research and pushes me to require my advisees to immerse themselves in literatures across the artificial disciplinary walls that separate the social sciences. Before leaving for Princeton and Yale, Carles Boix and Sue Stokes inspired me a great deal. I thank Carles for showing me how to question everything and ingraining in me the benefits of a comparative approach. I thank Sue for modeling how to be critical and generous simultaneously when offering feedback and for being a visionary leader in comparative politics. And while I have never met Peter Evans or Judith Tendler and will never meet Elinor Ostrom or Albert O. Hirschman, they are my academic heroes and muses. Insights from their canonical works have made a deep impression on this research. Most people say it in jest, but it is true: the University of Chicago is an odd bird, or a unicorn, or something else unique and hard to describe. It is an institu- tion whose inhabitants celebrate intensity, rigor, unflagging curiosity, and critical xii Acknowledgments dialogue, but it is also a place where big ideas are given the light, food, and space they need to be cultivated from root to fruit. I am certain that luck went into my matriculation there, but I am a better scholar for having attended it and a better person because of the people I befriended while there. My graduate cohort became very close thanks to Cathy Cohen’s data analysis course and many sherry hours. Loren Goldman, Zac Callen, Marissa Guerrero, Jon Caverley, Negeen Pegahi, John Dobard, Sevag Kechichian, and the rest of our crew treaded water together and (eventually) started to swim. Deva Woodly-Davis, Anthony Davis, Sina Kramer, Andrew Dilts, Joe Fischel, Igor De Souza, Jenna Jordan, Emily Nacol, Bethany Albertson, Jon Rogowski, Mara Marin, Mona Mehta, Sondra Furcajg, and my aca- demic “siblings” Jon Obert and Sarah Parkinson helped turn the need for work and parties into many memorable work-parties and provided laughter and guidance along the way. Patchen Markell, Dan Slater, and Iris Marion Young also provided support at critical moments. While in Chicago, I also found my bar, the Map Room, and there I met my husband. The owners, Mark and Laura, created a space for great conversation and fun. When I think of Chicago I think of many happy times at the Map Room and the friendships I built with Amanda Keleman Stump and Billy Stump, Jessica Kenney, Sara Elder, may she rest in peace, and Dave Neville. Receiving a University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship changed the course of my academic life. With this postdoc, I was able to transition into the UCLA Sociology Department and was afforded the luxury of time to pub- lish articles and remap my overly ambitious and clunky dissertation into this book. It also cemented the friendships I hold dear with Annie Ro and Renee Luthra, two women who I immensely admire and with whom I shared the experience of learn- ing how to be an academic mama for the first time. The postdoc came about because in spite of my anxiety, I closed my eyes and hit Send on an email to Roger Waldinger, asking him for coffee when he came to give a talk at Chicago. He responded and said yes despite my conviction that this request would be ignored. Over the last eight years, our relationship has bloomed. Roger became a generous mentor, valued colleague, creative collaborator, but most importantly a treasured friend. Over many meals and coffees, backyard picnics, office and faculty meetings, sharing and critiquing of each other’s work, phone calls, and emails, Roger has showed me what it means to give of one’s time and attention in the pursuit of someone else’s goals. His mind is sharp, his words hon- est and direct, his heart and actions humane and sincere. I am so thankful he saw my potential to make a mark and buoyed me along the way. For any graduate stu- dents reading this, I implore you to push through your worries of being a burden and ask your senior colleagues and those you admire in academia to meet up and talk about your ideas. “Make the ask!” as the influential Kerry Ann Roquemore would say. The UCLA Sociology Department was my home while writing this book and for that I am forever grateful. My colleagues there are the finest in the discipline and I Acknowledgments xiii learned so much from each of them. I thank Roger Waldinger, Rubén Hernández- León, Gail Kligman, Stefan Timmermans, Judy Seltzer, Steve Clayman, Rob Mare, Marcus Hunter, Abigail Saguy, Ka-Yuet Liu, Cesar Ayala, Hannah Landecker, Rebecca Emigh, Bill Roy, David Lopez, Patrick Heuveline, Darnell Hunt, C.K. Lee, Tanya Stivers, Lynne Zucker, Gabriel Rossman, Ed Walker, Jennie Brand, Stephen Bargheer, Megan Sweeney, Jacob Foster, Karida Brown, Vilma Ortiz, Jeffrey Prager, Rogers Brubaker, Min Zhou, Aliza Luft, and Jeff Guhin for their warmth and collegiality. Gail, Abigail, Roger, Rubén, and Karida deserve special thanks for reading all or parts of the manuscript and providing constructive, thoughtful comments. Roger, Rubén, Gail, Vilma, Darnell, Steve, Megan, Marcus, and Stefan were sources of inspiration and wise counsel while at UCLA and I am so grateful to have had their support during our institutional transition. Several others at UCLA deserve special thanks for giving me feedback on this project, providing encouragement, and helping me become a better instructor. I thank graduate students Peter Catron, Molly Fee, Zhenxiang Chen (Zeke), Joel Herrera, Ana Oaxaca, Mirian Martinez-Aranda, Carla Salazar Gonzalez, Jesse Acevedo, Deisy Del Real, Leydy Diossa-Jimenez, and Diana Morales for their sup- port. Zeke provided outstanding research assistance when I decided to expand parts of the quantitative analysis. He was willing to learn new methodological approaches alongside me and taught me new STATA coding too. His good nature and conviviality made the additional data hurdles all the more rewarding in the end. Ana Oaxaca, sharp and talented graduate student in political science, is also an incredible artist. Together we conceived the cover art for this book and Ana expertly made our vision come to life. Every time I look at it, I will think of the immense value that DACAmented and undocumented students bring to our universities, communities, and personal lives. The staff in the UCLA Sociology Department is the absolute best and helped lighten my load in so many ways. I thank Michael ONeill, Julie Huning, Simbi Mahlanza, Herumi Baylon, Irina Tauber, Wendy Fujinami, Hahan Rahardjo, Allan Hill, and Michelle Fielder for their magnanimity and kind dispositions. While at UCLA, the Provost, Division of Social Sciences, and Sociology Department graciously organized a book manuscript workshop for me. Esteemed scholars Peggy Levitt, Emilio Parrado, and Devesh Kapur read and provided con- structive feedback on the entire manuscript along with UCLA colleagues Roger Waldinger, Matt Barreto, Rubén Hernández-León; from Colef, Rafael Alarcón; and from UCSD, Abigail Andrews. The event was incredibly rewarding and the comments and suggestions I received helped improve the quality of the manu- script. Thank you all for your time and generosity. I also appreciate insightful com- ments from David FitzGerald and Filiz Garip, migration scholars whose books are required reading across the discipline and beyond. At UC Press I thank Naomi Schneider for believing in this book from the first day we met and Benjy Malings for helping it all come together. xiv Acknowledgments I am fortunate to have a robust network of scholars and friends who have been willing to engage my work and cheer me on. I thank Clarisa Pérez-Armendáriz, Sophia Wallace, Dana Moss, and Abigail Andrews for being in my corner and Cecilia Menjívar, Leisy Abrego, Hiroshi Motomura, Rocío Rosales, Annie Ro, Patricia Morton, Renee Luthra, Shirin Montazer, Krista Brumley, Covadonga Meseguer, Katrina Burgess, Filiz Garip, Natasha Iskander, Irene Vega, Xochitl Bada, Sylvia Zamora, Adrìan Felix, and David Meyer for their support. A lot of life happened in the years I was writing and finishing up this book that gave new direction to my career and reinforced the importance of nurtur- ing friendships and family. Three of our parents received cancer diagnoses and we lost two dear friends. Additionally, my mother and mother-in-law had organ transplants. I had surgery to remove a tumor a week before I sent the complete manuscript to readers. We found out later it was benign. And Aaron and I made the difficult decision to move our family across the country from LA to Detroit to solve the tricky challenge of dual academic careers. While it is not customary in many professions to share these kinds of intimate life details, I hope that some who are reading these words feel a little less alone if they experience challenging cir- cumstances while trying to produce great work. I have been fortunate that I genu- inely love my job and found that research and writing sustained me and provided a respite of sorts when the going got tough. I thank my friends, family, and the NCFDD for reminding me that making time for pleasure and enjoying rewards to punctuate achievements is necessary to restore our energy wells and feel human. Marissa Guerrero, my best girlfriend and titi to my boys, has been a loyal, trusted friend, intellectual companion, dance partner, thrift store mate, dispenser of advice, and reservoir of joy and humanity for the entirety of this project from seed idea to dissertation to book. I am a better person because she is my friend. I hope everyone has a friend like her in their lives to make the days sunnier and storms more navigable. Iljie Fitzgerald was a true gem to me in my last two years in LA. We played hooky together and went to the spa, ate delicious Korean food, plotted, laughed endlessly, and worked together to make the Fernald daycare a better place for all of UCLA’s faculty and staff children. I would also like to thank Betty and Miguel at the UCLA faculty club for making me smile every morn- ing while I wrote. Our daily conversations and sharing memories of Mexico were truly delightful. My academic mamas group is a daily source of inspiration, reciprocity, and accountability. I am so grateful to the National Council of Faculty Development and Diversity for bringing us together though the Faculty Success Program (aka Faculty Bootcamp). Abigail Andrews, Mary Doyno, Maria Alejandra Perez, and Rachel Haywood-Ferreira have been my rocks over the last three years and I trea- sure the camaraderie and safety net we have created for each other. Together we are becoming better parents, partners, and colleagues and we push each other to Acknowledgments xv take leaps. Abigail has become a cherished friend and book buddy. She is a careful researcher, devoted mama, and fabulous person all around. I am so lucky to have her in my professional and personal life. Sweet Mary is my cross-country bestie. She has shown me that personal tragedy can help willing people grow into the best versions of themselves. She has offered me grace, love, and light at every turn and for that I feel blessed. Wayne State University wisely recruited Aaron and I am grateful they were willing to create a position for me too. I thank Jeff Kentor, Wayne Raskind, and Ratna Naik for bringing us on board and our lovely colleagues in Sociology and Chemistry for welcoming us with open arms. This research would not have been possible without the generous financial support from the Ford Foundation and the National Academies, the Tinker Foundation, the National Science Foundation Dissertation Improvement Grant (SES-0819245), and a UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship that gave me funds to travel to Mexico and conduct fieldwork, design and disseminate the original survey, and grant me leave from teaching to revise my dissertation into a book manuscript. I was also fortunate to receive a research grant from the Department of Political Science, the Center for Latin American Studies, and a Harper/ Visiting Committee Fellowship while at the University of Chicago. At UCLA, a Hellman Fellowship, Early Career Faculty Grant from the Center at the Study of International Migration, and an Academic Senate Faculty Grant provided funding for a research assistant to complete additional empirical analysis and also released me from teaching obligations to finish the book. I have tremendous gratitude for my parents who have always believed in me and encouraged me to follow my bliss even if it meant moving far away from them. They made huge sacrifices for my education. I am the first in my mother’s family to attend college and I am so thankful for this privilege. I hope I have made them proud. My love for my sister is borderless and effortless. She brings so much joy and laughter into my life. Thank you, Kelly, for always being you and being my beacon. You are what is right and good in the world. My husband, Aaron, is my partner in life, my best friend, my champion, my co-parent. Together we have built something truly magical that sustains me and gives me room to grow and evolve. He assumed more of the household and par- enting responsibilities when I needed time to write and helped me believe I could succeed even when my confidence waned from time to time. I am so thankful for his love and support of my career. Our son, Maxwell, arrived my first year at UCLA and made writing this book more meaningful. He is such a curious, joyful, and goofy child. Being his mommy and playing with him is a beautiful release. And my baby Finn, who coos on my chest while I write these words, you, our sweet boy, are the next chapter. Thank you for coming into our lives at exactly the right time and completing our family. xvi Acknowledgments Finally, to the migrants and families who opened up their homes to me in Mexico and the U.S., thank you for sharing your stories and showing me what true sacrifice looks like. You gave me a place to stay, fed me, danced with me, and told me stories about your experiences, culture, and communities. Learning from all of you has been one of the greatest gifts of my life. Thank you. 1 Introduction On a clear day in the winter of 2009, I boarded a bus leaving Guadalajara, the second-largest city in Mexico, and headed toward the municipality of Comarga nestled high in the northern mountains of Jalisco. The bus hugged the shoulder of the two-lane highway and zigzagged its way through switchbacks along Route 23. Agave fields, old Catholic churches, and rural villages punctuated the rural coun- tryside. Every so often the bus stopped to collect and drop off travelers. I welcomed these little pauses in the journey, precious moments to recover from vertigo, take in the local scenery, and buy fruits and veggies soaked in lime and chilies from sellers who hopped on the idling bus. Each town we passed had its own history and feel— San Cristóbal de la Barranca, Teul, Tlatenango, and Momax. Rows of tomatoes, beans, greens, and livestock farms lined the road leading into the municipal town center where local residents congregated in plazas with round pavilions and mar- ket stalls. 1 Chickens, goats, and lambs milled about the courtyards of adobe and concrete flat-roofed houses that lined the roads. I saw cars and trucks with license plates from California, Texas, and Illinois. And peppered throughout the towns, alongside more modest dwellings, sat renovated houses with grand new additions, gable roofs, circle driveways, and buffed wooden garage doors. Many of these improvements were funded with remittances earned in the United States and sent home to migrant families in Mexico. In each town we passed, signs of northern migration to the U.S. commingled with familiar features of the rural countryside. Along the bus route I also saw big placards that noted sites of new public infra- structure. In connection with the Mexican government, migrants also financed public goods and services with remittances. They pooled resources in the U.S. and built schools, bridges, and health clinics in their hometowns. They paved roads