Seis tesis para desmitificar el nexo entre migración y desarrollo

the reigning assumption in migration and development studies is that international migration promotes development in places and countries of origin. but this idea lacks a theoretical and empirical basis: it ignores the root causes underlying the exodus of millions of poor workers forced to struggle for their survival in the developed nations; it discards the contributions made by migrants to the economy of the receiving countries, and obscures the many transferences and costs migration represents for sending countries -loses that are not compensated by remittance flow. this article proposes the construction of a comprehensive approach to the phenomenon through six theses that analyze key aspects of the global capitalist restructuring process in practice during the past three decades. the mexico-united states case is used as a paradigmatic example of the socioeconomic losses incurred by workforce-exporting nations and the enormous benefits reaped by importing countries.