University of Texas Press Journal of Latin American Geography

Migration, Development and a New Rurality in the Valle Alto, Bolivia
Author(s): Kaitlin Yarnall and Marie Price

Source: Journal of Latin American Geography, Vol. 9, No. 1 (2010), pp. 107-124
Published by: University of Texas Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25765287
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Migration, Development and a New Rurality
in the Valle Alto, Bolivia
Kaitlin Yarnail and Marie Price

Department of Geography
The George Washington University
Abstract
The relationship between migration and development is often discussed but seldom
empirically demonstrated. In this case study from Bolivia, we examine the impacts mi
gration has had on the small sending-region of Valle Alto in the Department of Coch
abamba. Using data collected from interviews, surveys, and field observation, the study
identifies distinct migration patterns and remittance flows and how they contribute to
the material development of this region. The study highlights the diverse destinations
that emigrants seek to maintain remittance income, the circularity of such income, and
the development of diasporic knowledge networks. In some instances, a new rurality is
observed, in which small rural communities are perceived to have more material resourc
es than older colonial towns. While the Valle Alto offers many examples of migration
stimulating development, there is concern over the sustainability of some of these net
works as circular migration, particularly between the United States and Bolivia, becomes
more difficult and cosdy.
Keywords: Bolivia, emigration, remittances, diasporic networks
Resumen
La relation entre migration y desarrollo ha sido discutida a menudo pero pocas veces
demostrada empiricamente. En este estudio en Bolivia, examinamos los impactos que
la migration ha tenido en la region pequena de emigration denominada Valle Alto, en
el Departamento de Cochabamba. Usando datos colectados de entrevistas, encuestas,
y observaciones, el estudio identifica sistemas de migration y movimientos de remesas
que son unicos a la region y muestra como contribuyen al desarrollo de la zona. El es
tudio muestra los diversos destinos que los emigrantes buscan para mantener ganancias
de remesas, el movimiento circular de dichas ganancias, y la construction de redes de
conocimiento sobre la diaspora. En ciertas instancias, se observa una ruralidad nueva,
en donde se percibe que las comunidades rurales tienen mas recursos materiales que
los pueblos coloniales. Aunque Valle Alto ofrece muchos ejemplos de migration que
estimula el desarrollo economico, hay preocupacion sobre la sostenibilidad de algunas
de estas redes cuando la migration circular, particularmente entre los Estados Unidos y
Bolivia, se vuelve mas dificil y costosa.
Palabras clave: Bolivia, emigration, remesas, redes de la diaspora
Journal of Latin American Geography, 9 (1), 2010 ? Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers
108 Journal of Latin American Geography
Introduction
The migration history of the residents of Valle Alto, a highland agricultural
area in the Department of Cochabamba, Bolivia is lengthy and significant. International
migration has been an integral part of the society, culture, and economy of the region
for the past six decades due to structural inequalities that limit access to income and
resources (especially land) which, in turn, drive people out in search of employment
(Dandier and Medeiros 1988; Balan 1990; Cortes, 2004; de La Torre Avila, 2006). The
experience of this region reveals a livelihood strategy in which the migration of men,
and later women, has produced several distinct migration streams. The early labor flows
were to Chile and then Argentina (Dandier and Medeiros, 1988). Some three decades
ago, a flow of migrants targeted the United States, especially Washington DC (Price,
2007). In the last six years Spain has become an important new destination (Hinojosa,
2006). International labor migration has become the means by which individuals and
households purchase land, build homes, educate children, and hopefully invest in future
income-generating activities. At the same time, there is a significant pattern of return
migration and continued financial support of the region from afar. The return of
migrants has had a visible impact on the landscape of the Valle Alto. In some cases the
social and economic changes in this region of emigration have produced a new rurality,
in which formerly poor peasant communities (comunidades) are materially better than
nearby colonial towns such as Tarata. Yet there are also negative consequences of this
migration-driven livelihood system, namely the fracmring of households across great
distances and the vulnerability to political and economic changes in receiving countries
(Quiroga, et. al, 2007).
This article describes the impact migration has had on the Valle Alto,
particularly the villages and towns of the province of Esteban Arze, where the city of
Tarata is considered the provincial center. It will also explain the systems that have
allowed this migration to support development, a complex and uneven process that has
been reported in other rural Andean communities that rely upon out-migration (Jokisch,
1997; Jokisch 2002; Jokisch and Probilsky 2002; Altamirano Rua, 1996, Novick, 2008).
An important feature of the migration system is the multiple destinations that emigrants
have strategically selected over time to insure continued remittance income. A second
feature is the long-term development of complex migrant social networks. Residents
of the Valle Alto have extended experience in building transnational networks that
link the residents of the Valle Alto to far away settings. Referred to in the literature as
diaspora knowledge networks (DKN) (Meyer and Wattiaux, 2006: 4), the maintenance
of these networks fosters a strong sense of identity with the communities of the Valle
Alto. The flow of remittances direcdy to the small cities in the Valle Alto has increased,
as have the speed and efficiency in which capital can be sent to rural residents. These
three features: 1) srrifting destinations in response to changing opportunity structures, 2)
diaspora knowledge networks, and 3) remittances have stimulated what Bolivian scholar,
Leonardo de La Torre Avila, has termed the new Bolivian rurality in the Valle Alto (2006).
We offer the Valle Alto as a compelling case study of this new rurality that demonstrates
the complex linkages between migration and development.
Migration and Development

Interest in the relationship between migration and development has intensified in the
past two decades, especially as major international organizations such as the World
Bank and United Nations have improved methods for tracking remittance flows and
have taken a more optimistic view of the role of remittances in fostering development.
Geographer Jorgen Carling's assessment of this shift in institutional tliinking contends
Migration, Development and Rurality: Bolivia 109
that a pessimistic review of remittances in the 1970s and 1908s was informed by
dependency theory which saw labor migration has undermining developing economies
and remittances being wasted away on frivolous consumption. Carling argues that in the
1990s:
.. .remittances were increasingly seen in an optimistic light. This optimism
was based, in part, on new understandings of the division between
consumption and investment. In particular, remittance expenditure
on health and education was increasingly seen as investment in human
capital (2007, 45).
Such unbridled optimism is seen in a United Nations report on international

migration and development, which boldly stated, "migration's potential for good is
enormous" (United Nations, 2006: 6). In quantitative terms, the Inter-American
Development bank estimated that Latin American countries received over US$65 billion
in remittances in 2007 (IDB).
Beyond the growing volume of remittances, much of the evidence for the
"good" that may come from migration has to do with numerous case studies that
document local communities benefiting from this new source of capital (Taylor, et. al.
1996; Carling, 2004; Lee, 2004; Cohen and Rodriguez, 2005; Novick, 2008). Yet these
same studies caution about the dangers inherent upon remittance dependence, where
entire villages, and in some cases small countries, become vulnerable to reliance upon
income from abroad. This vulnerability has several components: workers can be barred
from legally entering particular labor markets due to policy shifts or destination countries
may economically falter and not support foreign labor (as was the case in Argentina
during its economic crisis in 2000-2002). After working abroad for long periods, migrants
may cease to send remittances as they have their own families to support in destination
countries or ties to family and home community may weaken. Other studies report that
household members who rely upon remittances cease to engage in economic activities in
sending communities because their basic needs are met by money from abroad (Levitt,
2001). Over time, community reliance upon remittances promotes a cycle of migration
in which new emigrants must continually be added to insure the support of the sending
community. Thus the potential benefits of international migration, namely more capital,
are tempered by the reality of fractured families, depopulated settiements, labor abuses,
questions of legality and the lingering suspicion that migration can not possibly promote
long-term and widespread development in and of itself (Casdes and Wise, 2008).
Given these divergent outcomes, the literature on migration and development
often falls into two countervailing interpretations, one of the vicious circle and the other
of the virtuous circle (Delgado-Wise and Guarnizo, 2007). The vicious circle model is
used by those who view international labor migration as exploitive and counter to the
goals of development. Scholars look at migration from Latin American countries to the
United States, in particular, as driven by deep structural inequalities in the relationship
between the U.S. and Latin America. In this view, large-scale emigration reinforces
underdevelopment and inequality. For countries such as Bolivia, there is a popular belief
that emigration (both permanent and temporary) is one of the most common survival
strategies in a country undermined by structural adjustment policies and neoliberalism
(Whitesell, 2008; Kohl and Farthing, 2006).
In contrast, other scholars emphasize the virtuous circle as one that forms when
mature migrant networks result in circular flows, in which pooled remittances lead to the
development of emigrant communities. In this study, we are cautiously optimistic about
migration's role in developing local communities, but only under certain circumstances.
Also, the effectiveness of the virtuous circle can be undermined by national policies
in both the sending and receiving countries over which local communities have little
influence. Thus, if a country receiving immigrants decides to curtail immigration or a
sending country begins to tax remittances, as Bolivia did in the fall of 2007, the benefits
of migration can quickly unravel (Copa, 2007). While it may be rhetorically convenient
to divide migration into virtuous and vicious circles, the reality is more likely a continuum
in which the same migrant stream can have positive and negative results depending upon
the timing of the migration, the destination, the migrant networks and the skill level of
individuals and groups. Most economic migrants from Latin America leave because of
poverty at home and demands abroad for their labor. Thus migration in and of itself is
neither good nor bad, but a growing and global livelihood strategy to address economic
inequalities and poverty.
Alejandro Portes contends that there is no case of remittances causing a
labor-exporting nation, as a whole, to develop (Portes, 2008), but positive effects of
migration are documented at smaller scales of analysis such as regions, communities or
households. In Portes's thoughtful review essay reflecting upon the circumstances under
which migration can promote community development, he suggests that, "cyclical labor
migration can have positive development effects," but that "permanent family migration"
leads to "the emptying of sending places" (Ibid., 24). Brad Jokisch (2002) reports similar
findings in highland Ecuador where decades of international labor migration in Cariar
and Azuay have promoted both rural development but has left some communities
depopulated
In the cases where migration supports local development there tends to be
circularity of movement, strong social networks, and a tradition of communal reciprocity
that leads to sustained investment. In the Valle Alto these elements exist, although legal
constraints in the receiving countries (such as the USA and Spain) may be challenging
the cyclical nature of flows from this region. In particular, as legal entry into the United
States became more difficult in the late 1990s, many undocumented residents from the
Valle Alto working in the United States were unable to return to Bolivia for fear of not
being able to re-enter the United States. Uncertain legal status, therefore, hindered the
pattern of circular return that was so typical of the earlier Bolivian-Argentine migration
streams.
The scale and duration of migrant flows must be taken into consideration when
assessing the impact of migration upon development. The unevenness of both migration
and remittance investment can produce shifting relations between rural communities
and small urban centers, whereby once poor rural communities surpass their provincial
capitals in terms of relative wealth and material well-being. Relationships between rural
and urban areas have always been dynamic within Latin America, yet the tendency for
urban areas (be they cities or towns) to be materially better off than rural areas is the
expected norm. The challenge to this norm is captured in the concept of new rurality,
in which the relative status of localities is inverted when smaller rural communities,
with access to remittance dollars, become more prosperous than nearby towns, and so
challenge the traditional urban hierarchy. We are not arguing that the primacy of major
cities such as La Paz, Santa Cruz or Cochabamba could ever be challenged by remittance
funded investment. But, at a regional scale, the relative importance of provincial cities
(secondary or tertiary urban centers) may be weakened as a new rurality takes hold.
As Bolivian scholar Leonardo de la Torre Avila contends (2006), the Valle Alto
offers a compelling example of a new rurality. Here, we seek to expand this concept to
include not only changes in the material landscape but also shifts in social and economic
status. Such shifts in rural investment and provincial status have been noted in other
migrant-producing areas, especially in Mexico. Richard Jones's work on remittances and

inequality in Zacatecas powerfully demonstrates the importance of scale when comparing
rural and urban investment in that state. His analysis of remittances concludes that
"urban income superiority has been replaced by rural income superiority!" and that in
other regions of Mexico "agricultural improvements stimulated by former migrants have
enabled the farming class to rise above the traditional urban business class" (Jones, 1998:
21-22). While Jones does not use the term new rurality, we contend that such shifts in
relative income and investment are expressions of it.
In this study we invoke a broad definition of development that is not tied
stricdy to economic indicators but as processes that improve the quality of life, be it
by better education, healthcare, housing, transportation, employment or material goods.
There is a complex discourse about the meaning and practice of development, especially
in Latin America where various institutions (states, intergovernmental agencies, and
multi-national corporations) have regularly failed to promote development (Crush
1995). Many of the people interviewed in this study observed that through migration
they were able to develop their communities, whereas if they had waited for the "state"
to help them they would not have experienced the same social or material gains. For
the communities of the Valle Alto, migration is understood as a proven, albeit difficult,
path to development, one that is taken to increase access to capital but also to expand
the limited range of opportunities. Decades of deep structural inequalities and weak
institutions have undermined rural and urban livelihoods in Bolivia (Kohl and Farthing
2006; Klein 1992). Thus for the individual who seeks to buy more land, plant an orchard,
educate a child, have a medical procedure, or start a small business, international
migration is seen as the most likely route to achieve this development goal.
Methodology
This research used field observation, census data, remittance surveys, and
interviews, the majority of which were conducted in the Valle Alto. The Valle Alto is a
high valley averaging 9,000 feet in elevation southeast of the city of Cochabamba. The
valley floor is about 30 miles wide and contains several important colonial cities such as
Tarata, Cliza and Punata. It has perpetually been a productive agricultural zone for the
Department of Cochabamba and the country as a whole. Grains from the Valle Alto
were sent to the mines of Potosi in the colonial era (Larson, 1992), and today corn,
grains, and fruits flow to the large urban markets of Bolivia. Our research focuses
on the southwest corner of the valley in the third section of the province of Esteban
Arze (Figure 1). Nearly 10,000 people were counted in this section in the 2001 census.
We focused on this area because many of the Bolivians interviewed in the Washington
metropolitan area were from this section.
Over 50 open-ended interviews were carried out in the Valle Alto with the
families of immigrants currendy residing in Washington DC, local officials, and those
employed in the immigrant economy (especially money transfer operators) in January
2008. Contacts with migrant households in the Valle Alto were established through
a previous series of surveys and interviews with Bolivian soccer players working in
Washington (Yarnall 2008; Price and Whitworth 2004). This was not a random sample
but was built through repeated contacts with immigrant associations in Washington
and repeated trips to the Valle Alto by one of the authors. These interviews provided
valuable information regarding communal and familial transnational networks as well
as the role of migrants in local development. Beyond interviews, field observation was
important, as the authors were able to observe changes in the built environment and
household composition caused by emigration from the area. In the city of Cochabamba,
archival newspaper research was conducted and the articles gathered were particularly
helpful in understanding the effects of migration and remittances, as well as the role of
the state in migration processes.
Provinces of the Department of Cochabamba
Secondary Road
*?** Primary Stream
-< ' Intermittent Stream
9 Section Capita!
Munktpagty
Figure 1. Location of the Third Section of Esteban Arze Province within

Cochabamba Department
Since many households in Esteban Arze have migrant family members in metropolitan
Washington, this research was also informed by interviews and surveys conducted among
migrant organizations in the Washington area. Manuel Orozco, a remittance expert at the
Inter-American Dialogue, provided unpublished survey data on remittances by Bolivians
from Metropolitan Washington. These data, with a sample size of 70 individuals, were
collected in 2005 by Orozco's team at a money transfer business in Arlington, Virginia

that specializes in transfers to Bolivia. While these data were published as part of a
larger sample (Orozco et. al., 2007), Bolivian remitters had not previously been isolated
from the data set. The Bolivia-specific data were analyzed and used to quantify and
characterize the remittance flow between Metropolitan Washington and Cochabamba
(Yarnall, 2008).
Multiple Destinations, One Place Called Home

WTien Cresencio Soto, the mayor of the Third Section of Esteban Arze Province was
asked to explain the role of migration in the region he summarized by saying, "Simply,
it is the role of the Bolivian to migrate" (Soto, 1/8/2008). Most residents of the Valle
Alto echo this sentiment. The widespread understanding of the role of migration in the
region's culture and consciousness is due to a century of emigration from the region to
other countries.
The first documented wave of international labor migration from the Valle
Alto is discussed by historian Brooke Larson (1992, 318), who describes a flow from
the region into Northern Chile. This flow began during the late nineteenth century and
was caused by a decline in the mining industry in Potosi. This decline caused a decrease
in demand for the food produced in the Valle Alto. Faced with a lack of work, men
migrated to Northern Chile to work in the nitrate mines of the Atacama Desert. This
migratory flow was short-lived with most workers returning to Bolivia by the beginning
of World War I, due to the invention of synthetic nitrate which caused a decrease in
the demand for naturally mined nitrates. While the number of men that migrated from
the Valle Alto to Chile is not known, the effects of this international labor migration
established a pattern in which Valle Alto residents viewed international migration as a
viable employment strategy.
The next major wave of migration from the Valle Alto began after the Bolivian
agrarian reform of 1952. Part of the larger Bolivian National Revolution, the agrarian
reform was particularly violent in the Department of Cochabamba, where large latifundias
were split apart and given to indigenous campesinos. The revolution marked the first
time in Bolivian history that the rural indigenous majority was given full participatory
citizenship by the state (Kohl and Fardiing, 2006: 45-50). WTiile the agrarian reform of
1952 did redistribute land in the Valle Alto, it was flawed in its execution. The problems
of low peasant productivity, small parcel sizes, and the concentration of the best lands
among the elite remained (Gisbert el al., 1994).
Following the agrarian reform, many residents of the Valle Alto had small
landholdings; yet these properties had to be subdivided in order to provide land to
subsequent generations. With less land per farmer, the next generation sought alternative
means of income generation, which resulted in more spatial mobility (Dandier and
Medeiros, 1988: 8). Compounding this need was the lack of large-scale irrigation
systems, which meant that farmers were only able to produce one annual crop. This
had the effect of, "gready limiting income and reducing labor demand for agricultural
activities. Therefore, households developed a highly diversified economic strategy that
included temporary and permanent migration" (Ibid., 1988:13). The majority migrated
to Argentina, particularly to Buenos Aires.
Migration from the Valle Alto to Buenos Aires was well established by the
1960s and increased throughout the 1970s. Working mainly in the construction industry
in Buenos Aires, the men that left the Valle Alto returned on an annual or semi-annual
basis (Balan, 1990). Balan observes that in the 1970s and 1980s there did not "exist a
formal mechanism to transfer money and informal methods were not always reliable"
(Ibid., 286). This resulted in men saving large sums of money and bringing it back to the
Valle Alto in the form of cash and goods.
During the 1980s residents of the Valle Alto increasingly migrated to the United
States, particularly to metropolitan Washington. A few residents from the Valle Alto
came to Washington in the late 1960s and found employment. This small node attracted
other migrants through chain migration and by the 1980s Washington had emerged as
the preferred destination (Price 2006). From 1980-1990 the Bolivian population tripled
based on the great demand for their labor and reliance on social networks (Price, 2007).
In 1980 only 10 percent of Cochabambinos working abroad resided in the United
States. By 1988 this number had increased to 31 percent, with the majority traveling to
metropolitan Washington (Cortes, 2004:158). When asked about the initial migration
from the Valle Alto to Washington, several residents of the municipality of Mamanaca
echoed this chronology: "Before 1984 or 1985 there were only a few people that traveled
to Virginia [part of metropolitan Washington]. After 1985, people began to leave in
large numbers" (Anonymous, 1/13/2008). The 1990s represented a growth in migration
to the United States with a continued flow to Argentina. A decline in migration to
Argentina coincided with the financial crisis that occurred between 1999 and 2002.
Since 2004 there has been a sudden increase in the number of Bolivians migrating to
Spain, although within the Valle Alto connections to metropolitan Washington remain
strong. The continued preference for Washington underscores the importance of social
networks for Valle Alto migrants. Although it may have been easier to enter Spain, social
connections continue to reinforce the transnational community in Washington.
Diaspora Knowledge Networks

Valle Alto emigrants have created and maintained various organizations that build their
social capital and facilitate active exchange between the Valle Alto and various migrant
destinations. Throughout the region it is widely acknowledged that the way to improve
your circumstances (build a better house, buy more land, or even marry) is to work
abroad for a period of time to accumulate capital. In Quechua the word cheqanchada
is used to refer to a short cut that only locals know about, which allows you to get from
one place to another much faster and with less effort (De la Torre Avila, 2007,1-2). Rural
communities in the Valle Alto view international labor migration as their cheqanchada
but the system only works because of the complex formation and maintenance of
knowledge networks.
Migration and diaspora literatures often examine the role of social networks
or diaspora knowledge networks (DKN) (Kuzentsov, 2006; Meyer and Wattiaux 2006).
These refer to the social networks and support systems that migrants construct with
their co-ethnics in countries of origin and destination. While some proponents argue
that origin country governments should devote resources to develop and maintain these
networks, such official support of the diaspora community does not currendy exist in
Bolivia.
The knowledge networks that exist in the Valle Alto that facilitate migration
and investment are closely associated with the residents' understanding of the Quechua
cultural practice of iyne - or mutual assistance and village-based reciprocity. Iyne works
as a means to share resources and information, and loan money. While these practices
are observed in migrant-sending communities worldwide, and are by no means unique
to Bolivia, the residents of the Valle Alto often explain the creation of migrant networks
and resource redistribution as part of the deeper cultural tradition of iyne. For example,
when a young man or woman decides to work abroad, the person turns to villagers in the
community for a loan, which could be up to US$15,000. Usually the loans are contingent
upon an already established place to work in the host country based upon family and
village employment connections. Sometimes these systems of mutual cooperation and
sharing are not monetized but the expectations to help someone from your community
are real and one's reputation may depend upon it. Yet, in the case of lending money,
these are informal contracts with interest and payment timelines that are principally
enforced through a sense of duty and obligation.
In this part of rural Bolivia soccer clubs and other hometown associations
have been critical in mamtaining contact, sending money and promoting infrastructural
development. The activities of one soccer league in particular, INCOPEA, will be
discussed in detail below. Playing on a weekly soccer team with people from your
country of origin means much more than staying fit. These teams are network-enforcing
organizations that bring people together on a weekly basis during the soccer season,
allowing them to see friends, share news, and maintain their sense of identity as someone
from the Valle Alto. In terms of actual development, the mission of INCOPEA is to
assist in the development of the rural communities that its players hail from. Thus
in an iyne-based system, resources are pooled and villages receive funds on a rotating
basis. Other hometown associations in this region also exist in the US and engage in
public works, but the soccer leagues have been the most successful in terms of localized
development.
Patterns of Remittances
The Inter-American Development Bank estimated that in 2007 remittances
to Bolivia surpassed one billion dollars. The average annual amount sent by a Bolivian
remitter was found to be US$1,400. In a country where the per capita GNI was roughly
US$1,000 in 2007, having access to remittances gready impacts household income. In
an earlier study, which measured remittances sent through both informal and formal
channels, it was found that roughly eleven percent of the Bolivian adult population
received remittances (IDB 2007), yet in the Valle Alto the percentage of households
receiving remittances was much higher. According to the Bank, the top remittance
sending countries were Argentina, the United States, and Spain.
While the importance of remittances to Bolivia as a whole is undisputed, more
general studies do not isolate sub-national flows such as those from the Washington
area to Cochabamba. To quantify and describe this remittance flow, a 2005 survey
undertaken in Arlington, Virginia, by Manuel Orozco was utilized by the authors. The
Bolivian community is concentrated in the northern Vkginia suburbs, but its members
send remittances to eight of the nine departments in Bolivia. Eighty-four percent of
the survey transactions went to the three most populated departments: Cochabamba,
La Paz, and Santa Cruz. While the departmental distribution of remittances sent to
Bolivia generally follows the population distribution, the Department of Cochabamba
stands out. In the survey Cochabamba received 41 percent of the transactions, yet it only
accounts for 18 percent of the country's population (Table 1). These survey data confirm
the existence of chain migration between Cochabamba and northern Virginia
The mean amount of each remittance to Bolivia from metropolitan Washington
was US$246. Ninety-seven percent of survey respondents reported sending money
on a monthly basis. Using the mean monthly remittance sent from Washington, an
annual average of nearly US$3,000 is probable. Sixty-four percent of survey respondents
reported sending remittances to parents, and not spouses, which is perhaps surprising
given the tradition of men leaving spouses behind to work abroad. Yet the average
remitter is relatively young (29 years old) with living parents at home. Moreover, perhaps
parents are trusted to carry out their children's wishes with regards to how remittance
monies are spent. Or, in the case when a couple leaves the region for employment
elsewhere, parents are often left to care for the couple's children (i. e. grandparents
tending grandchildren). The second largest recipient group of remittances is children
(23 percent), while only 10 percent of remittances are sent to spouses. One potential
explanation for this pattern may be that respondents stated they were sending funds to
children when this money was actually going to a spouse to be spent on children. While
the data may be misleading as to the actual household recipient of the remittances, there
is clearly a strong financial link between parents and children separated by foreign labor
migration.
Department Percent of total Remittances Percent of total population

_(number of transactions)_
Pando 0 1
Beni 1 4
Potosi 1 8
Oruro 4 4
Tarija 4 4
Chuquisaca 6 5
Santa Cruz 20 26
LaPaz 23 29
Cochabamba 41 18
Table 1. Remittances to Bolivian Departments from Metropol
The data showed that three-quarters of the survey respond

remittances from Washington for less than seven years. WTiil
community in the Washington area for much longer, newly arri
connections to their hometowns appear to comprise the major
evident from interviews that newer migrants have more immed
One financial priority for many newly-arrived Bolivians is the r
for illegal entry to the United States. This debt, typically secure
loan in Bolivia can be as high as US$15,000. Property tides are
and most loans have a repayment term of roughly two years (
The remittance survey data show a disproportionate flow of m
small remittance receiving office in Tarata owned by a Bolivian liv
business was brisk in 2007. The office manager reported that
arrived each week with a total value of about US$40,000. This
almost US$2 million arriving in the study area through this one c
difficult to disaggregate the flow of remittances, data from individual transfer companies in
receiving and sending countries illustrate the unevenness in which remittances flow to some
localities much more than others. In the case of the communities studied here, remittance
transfer companies are important nodes in the migrant economy that have developed.
Immigrant-led Development and a New Rurality

Like many communities in Latin America that rely on migration for
their livelihood, the striking features of the Valle Alto region are its many new
and elaborate churches, western-style two-storey homes in brick and stucco, new
amenities such as basketball courts, soccer fields and renovated plazas and more
capital intensive agriculture. Yet, many of these amenities stand empty or are under
used, which illustrates the immigrant paradox of providing communities with more
infrastructure while at the same time gutting these communities of their labor force.
Leonardo de la Torre Avila has used the phrase "a new rurality" to describe some of
the changes occurring in the Valle Alto due to an increase in out migration (de la Torre
Avila, 2006:160). He describes this phenomenon in the context of an increase in peach
production due to migrant investment, which has led to greater economic productivity
in the region. Under the new rurality, the Valle Alto has been transformed from an
area of farming for subsistence for the local market to an area of more specialized
cultivation oriented toward the national market. We argue that this term can be extended
to apply to additional changes that have occurred in the Valle Alto due to international
migration. In essence, the term can be used to explain how concepts of what it means
to be rural are changing due to various social and economic impacts of migration. W/hile
the Valle Alto population is still rural, its landscape has dramatically changed, as have
the lifestyles of many of its residents. Additionally, its relationship with urban areas
in Bolivia has changed. All of these factors contribute to a "new Bolivian rurality"
that has the unanticipated consequence of shifting the power/economic balance
between rural communities and their supporting towns. It also means that rural
people are linked to distant international cities via money transfers, cell phones and
the Internet and somewhat less connected to provincial centers in their own country.
"Now when I travel to the valley the people there have more money than I do!"
(Anonymous, 1/5/2008). This statement, made by a rural development specialist from
the city of Cochabamba is indicative of the new rurality that is noticed by those who are
familiar with the Valle Alto. The traditional economic and class divisions between rural
and urban places are being altered by migration and the resulting inflow of remittances.
Within this new rurality, comunidades that were long thought of as centers of peasant
subsistence production can be seen to be slowly changing into areas that import labor and
attract investment. This transition is not happening due to direct foreign investment from
development agencies or corporations but due to the movement of capital from emigrants.
This changing economic balance between agrarian communities and urban
centers can clearly be seen in the relationship between urban Tarata and the rural
municipalities to its north and northwest in the Third Section of Esteban Arze Province.
The best example of this shift in status and resources is illustrated when comparing
the municipality of Arbieto with the city of Tarata. Thanks in part to funds provided
by residents of Arbieto working abroad, Arbieto now has cobbled streets, which were
previously dirt (Soto, 2008). Prior to the street improvement in Arbieto, Tarata was the
only town in the surrounding area with cobblestones due to its colonial significance.
Residents of the Valle Alto also frequency refer to Arbieto as the "modern" or "luxury"
town. In the recent past, only the provincial capital of Esteban Arze, Tarata, would have
been perceived as having some modern amenities. This break in the traditional hierarchy
of Tarata being the principle city that rural Arbieto relied upon has strained relationships
between the two localities. In fact, in 2009 children in Arbieto had their own high school
and no longer attend secondary school in Tarata. Similarly, in the community of Tiataco,
construction workers from the city of Cochabamba were observed building a house for a
Tiataco family that currendy lives in metropolitan Washington. The idea of a crew from
urban Cochabamba, the third largest city in Bolivia, working for an agricultural family
in rural Tiataco represents a shinning shift in established urban and rural relationships.
Another economic impact of this migration is the seasonal returns for holidays,
especially during Carnival and patron saint celebrations. Cresencio Soto, the mayor
of the Third Section of the Province of Esteban Arze spoke about the new tourism
industry in Arbieto saying, "tourism here is completely dependent upon the annual ferias
(celebrations centered on holidays). Thousands come to celebrate" (Soto, 1/8/2008).
While there are very few restaurants and hotels that operate year-round in the area,
during ferias numerous homes open their doors to visitors offering accommodations
and food. Small shops, that usually sell groceries and dry goods, convert to restaurants
to feed the large numbers that gather. According to Cortes, ferias have become
increasingly important with a rise in migration as they represent an opportunity for
migrants to reconnect with their hometowns and show their prosperity. Previously
costs for ferias were split evenly among residents. Now, "migrants, recognized as having
the greatest capacity financially are the only parties solicited to finance the feria costs"
(Cortes, 2004:238). A fundamental shift has occurred in which ferias used to represent
a local redistribution of wealth, to the current system in which migrant families have
both taken over and are expected to bear the responsibility of community celebrations.
Often, the occasion of a feria marks the date in which a new amenity provided
by migrant dollars is inaugurated. Thus, when many migrants return to these small
villages they can celebrate in their collective efforts that resulted in the construction of
a new church, plaza, school, soccer field or basketball court (Figure 2). Such amenities
do not exist in villages that do not have substantial numbers of people working abroad.
One of the interesting aspects of the Valle Alto is that many of the public structures
built by emigrants in the United States have been funded by a soccer league based in
northern Virginia that is made up of representative teams from each village in the
region. The Institute of Cooperation for the Peoples of Esteban Arze (INCOPEA) is an
immigrant soccer league that has existed since 1991. For nearly two decades this league
of 10-15 teams representing various rural communities in Esteban Arze has organized
championships and pooled resources to fund an impressive array of public works
projects. Annually this league sends roughly US$20,000 to $30,000 to a particular village
in a rotation system. Projects such as the church in Mamanaca (Figure 3) are a source
of pride for residents and migrants alike. A plaque at the church entrance acknowledges
the generous contributions made by INCOPEA and its member communities.
Figure 2. Valle Alto youth playing soccer in the village of Aranjuez on a soccer field
funded by a Washington-based immigrant soccer league.
Figure 3. Rleft: Mamanaca church on land acquired by Washington-based soccer league INCOPEA; [right: dedicatory plaque on church]
Another expression of the new rurality is the construction of emigrant-built

houses that are substantially larger and more elaborate than the typical adobe structures
with tile roofs (Figure 4). Unlike the public projects that INCOPEA has engaged in,
the construction of new homes is a private household affair. Many of these homes are
occupied by family members who have stayed, but are supported by regular remittances
from their household members. Typically, such homes have a woman acting as head of
household (be it a mother or grandmother) living in a newly renovated or constructed
home with children. Yet, it is also common to find these large homes unoccupied except
for maybe a local caretaker. Once or twice a year the triumphant emigrant returns to
enjoy the comforts of a large modern home during holidays or ferias but more often
than not he or she returns to a job outside of the country to continue working and
sending remittances. These remittance-funded homes are not only a major capital
investment by migrant households but they are a symbol of success and an indicator that
a migrant intends to either return or maintain physical connection with the community.
Figure 4. A view of the village of Arbieto highlights the difference between traditional
and remittance-funded houses.
Less obvious on the landscape is the use of remittances to further a

household member's education. With remittance dollars flowing into rural communities,
opportunities for secondary and university education in the city of Cochabamba
becomes possible for the children of migrants. This process began when migrants
journeyed to Argentina and continued with emigration to the United States. In one
family from Mamanaca, all six children were able to get a high-school education in
Cochabamba and the youngest child was able to go to college. Similarly, a young man
from Arbieto in his early 20s reported that three-quarters of the people he went to high
school with were now working abroad, either in the United States, Spain or Argentina.
Ironically, investment in education can lead to more migration rather than less.
Families with access to capital earned through migration are able to purchase land and
invest in non-subsistence agriculture. This modernization includes an increased use
of tractors and other machinery, the purchase of liigh-yielding seeds, the expansion
of irrigation infrastructure, and the investment in orchard agriculture, especially

peaches which are highly profitable. The mayor of the Third Section of Esteban
Arze explained this phenomenon saying, "Where there is water, there are peaches.
Wliere there is no water, there is wheat, corn, and potatoes" (Soto, 1/8/2008).
Along with the previously mentioned shift from subsistence agriculture
to production for the national market, agricultural mechanization and an increase
in irrigation infrastructure are changing agricultural norms in the Valle Alto. It is
important, however, to note that for the most part these changes are affecting only
families with a family member that has migrated. Those families without a family
member working abroad are increasingly unable to meet their needs through agriculture
(Cortes, 2004). This divide within the Valle Alto is another example of a new rurality
in which there is increased social stratification among those engaged in agricultural
production. Previously this divide existed between large landowners and campesinos but
now there is more economic stratification among and within campesino communities.
Discussion: the sustainability of the new rurality

This research focuses onasmallareaof the Valle Alto fromwhich large numbers of
migrants have left for different foreign labor markets. Here, we have focused on the complex
relationship between migration and development as demonstrated by the migrant-based
connections that have formed between the Valle Alto and metropolitan Washington DC.
Wliile this study points to many examples of individual and community
oriented development projects that have benefited the region, labor migration out of
the Valle Alto in and of itself does not guarantee development. In the cases where
communities are materially benefiting from migration, there is a constant flow of dollars,
people and information between the sending and receiving areas. The sustainability of
this system becomes undermined when migrants have difficulty returning or their legal
status is uncertain. In the last decade, as legal entry into the Unites States has become more
difficult for residents from the Valle Alto there is a tendency for labor migrants to work
abroad for a longer period of time before returning home. This can lead to fracturing of
families and fraying of community-based systems of reciprocity. In some cases, when
an immigrant with legal status in the United States marries and has his or her own family
there, the likelihood of permanentiy retxirning to the Valle Alto tends to diminishes.
Nevertheless, the Valle Alto has a long experience with migration. Many of
the social networks created through the decades have managed to sustain both a sense of
community and a commitment to place. As French geographer Genevieve Cortes observed
in her 2004 monograph on emigration from Cochabamba, residents of the region have
long understood the need to leave in order to stay. In the case of Bolivia, deep structural
inequalities within the country often make it difficult to subsist on the resources that exist
in the soils. Migration has become the short-cut (cheqanchada) that residents in the region
have developed and sustained through the decades to better their lives. Albeit fraught with
uncertainty and risk, migration that relies upon rich social networks and a deeply rooted
sense of belonging to a place, can result in community development and a new rurality.
Acknowledgements
The first author wishes to acknowledge the support of a Campbell Graduate
Student Summer Research Grant, awarded by the Department of Geography at
the George Washington University that helped to fund this research. In Bolivia
both authors are especially grateful for the assistance provided by Dr. Agusto
Villareal and his family, Leonardo de La Torre Avila, and Celia Ferrufino Quiroga.
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Migration, Development and a New Rurality in the Valle Alto, Bolivia

Author(s): Kaitlin Yarnall and Marie Price

Kaitlin Yarnail and Marie Price

Migration and Development

Such unbridled optimism is seen in a United Nations report on international

migrant-producing areas, especially in Mexico. Richard Jones's work on remittances and

Provinces of the Department of Cochabamba

Figure 1. Location of the Third Section of Esteban Arze Province within

collected in 2005 by Orozco's team at a money transfer business in Arlington, Virginia

Multiple Destinations, One Place Called Home

Diaspora Knowledge Networks

Department Percent of total Remittances Percent of total population

The data showed that three-quarters of the survey respond

Immigrant-led Development and a New Rurality

Another expression of the new rurality is the construction of emigrant-built

Less obvious on the landscape is the use of remittances to further a

of irrigation infrastructure, and the investment in orchard agriculture, especially

Discussion: the sustainability of the new rurality

_. 2008. Interrogating Remittances: Core Questions for Deeper Insight and

Inter-American Development Bank. 2007. International Map of Remittances. Released

_. 2002. Migration and Agricultural Change: The Case of Smallholder

Larson, Brooke. 1992. Colonialismoy Transformation Agraria en Bolivia. Cochabamba, 1500

Meyer, Jean-Baptiste and Jean-Paul Wattiaux. 2006. Diaspora Knowledge Networks:

Portes, Alejandro. 2008. Migration and Development: A Conceptual Review of the

Price, Marie. 2006. Placing Transnational Migration: The Socio-spatial Networks of

_. 2007. Andean South Americans and Cultural Networks, pp. 191-210, in

Soto, Cresencio. Personal Interview. 1/8/08

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