This Thursday afternoon, 77 Nahuatl day laborers embarked on a journey of more than 1,000 kilometers to Culiacán, Sinaloa. Among them were 38 children who are accompanying their families in search of a livelihood in the agro-industrial fields of the northern part of the country.
The labor migration season began on September 1st. With the families who left today, more than 147 have left the mountains. Half of these families are children and young people. The rising cost of basic food and the lack of local jobs make migration the only option for survival.
Miguel de la Cruz, a resident of Chiepetepec, migrated alone this year to pay for his two children’s education. “I’m going to harvest bell peppers at field 20 in Culiacán. We get paid 3.50 pesos per 20-liter can at the farm. Afterwards, it’s 331 pesos a day, although we still don’t know how much it will be now,” she explained before leaving.
The days start at seven in the morning and end at five in the afternoon, although when the heat is extreme, they stop at noon. Later, they return to work with overtime pay of 60 pesos per hour. Although some fields offer basic housing, the violence in Sinaloa keeps families on constant alert.
Doña Dolores, also from Chiepetepec, migrated with her four children. After more than 15 years of working in Sinaloa, she said that this year her children will continue their studies in makeshift classrooms in the agricultural fields. “My oldest daughter is going to start high school, but we have to pay for it half an hour from where we live,” she noted.
While grandparents remain in the community, young families face the strain of spending up to 10 months away from home. For many, the reality is harsher: migration means children have to drop out of school to work in the fields.
The journey to Sinaloa is long and dangerous. Between checkpoints and forced stops, families fear the violence that prevails on the roads. Even so, the lack of options in the mountains forces them to take risks. “Surviving here is like being on the edge of the cliff,” say the day laborers, aware that hope is sought far from their communities.
The departure of Nahua day laborers from Guerrero to the fields of Sinaloa reflects the persistent inequality and historical neglect of the mountains. While poverty drives them away, families continue to face grueling workdays, risks of violence, and the fragmentation of community life, in a cycle that repeats itself year after year without fundamental change.
Source: somosdelmedio
