International migration and the investment of remittances in the south of the State of Mexico

This research explores how international migration helps migrants to obtain economic resources, save and productive invest, as well as the acquisition of labor knowledge and personal experiences that migrants brought with them. It is a qualitative perspective, based on the testimonies provided by migrants interviewed in two rural locations (forest, agricultural), in the municipality of Ocuilan, in the South of the Estado de Mexico. The results show that, four in five interviewees had material improvements (house, furniture, cars, basic sustenance), and that more than half managed to invest remittances in activities related to the local productive vocation. Although they generate income and self-employment, in the end, less than one in every five migrants, they are the ones who live stable upon return and are sustained by the resources they obtained from international migration