When the Road to the Mayor’s Office Crosses the Border

Are migrant politicians more likely to align with dominant political actors or the opposition when they return home? Do they come from different socioeconomic backgrounds than non-migrants? In sum, does the political empowerment of migrants change the face of local political power in substantively important ways; or rather, does any power gained simply shore up already dominant social and political groups? To answer this question the chapter analyzes original data from a survey of municipal governments in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca. The analysis finds that migrant mayors were more likely to be members of the popular classes than their non-migrant counterparts, suggesting that migration might be a pathway to power for non-elite individuals. However, other findings are less supportive of the argument that migrants democratize their home towns. For example, migrant mayors were no more or less likely to support or sympathize with the dominant party in the state.