Productive reestructuring and changes in traditional migratory patterns

Abstract

The changes that have occurred over the last decades in spaces and population of several countries, show major transformations related to productive forces and organization. Probably one of the most dramatic changes is represented by manpower demand reduction from certain activities like the sugar agroindustry of Salta and Jujuy, among others. So, the main questions that arise are the following: What happens to the population that is displaced from its activity and productive function? What happens specifically with the exceeding labor force when the socioeconomic system denies it the possibility of economic reproduction?

The current analysis was carried out on the basis of the population of Santa Victoria Oeste, a department located in the north of Salta Province. This area has functioned providing temporary labor force for the sugar agroindustry of Salta and Jujuy since the early decades of this century. Sugar industry, since the 70’s has reduced considerably the incorporation of temporary workers, pushing them to look for new labor alternatives. This search, in several cases, involves new migratory processes towards spaces not only rural but also urban, and different situations that goes from temporary proletarianization, the occasional wage-earning or the self-employment, often in spaces located very far from their original habitat.