ABSTRACTS Nm.

74 de la Revista Nueva Antropologa

570. Something more than victims: Central American migrants in the Soconusco Region of the State of Chiapas, Mexico Jaime Rivas Castillo Within the framework of studies on Central American migration to and through Mexico as a transit and destination country for immigrants from Central America analysis has centered largely on migrants risks and vulnerability, but insufficient attention has been paid to empirical evidence and the theoretical perspectives which suggest that those migrants are more than mere victims of violations of their human rights or of accidents. In this article, the author maintains that it is necessary to delve into the concepts of risk and vulnerability, as well as to accompany that analysis with others breaking away from mindsets entailing victimization and opening up the possibility of not considering migrants as mere passive subjects, but rather as active participants in their migratory processes who receive, interpret, and exchange information, design strategies in their relationships with the other actors involved, as well as with institutions and organizations. This second kind of vision is more in keeping with the main theoretical postulates of a perspective centered on social actors and on evidence gathered from ethnographic studies done in certain places within the Soconusco Region of the State of Chiapas.

Keywords: Soconusco, Chiapas, Central America, migratory flows, Central American migration, undocumented migration, risk, vulnerability, social actors

575. Analysis of transnational migrations within the context of Spain, revisiting the category of gender from an ethnographic and feminist standpoint Carmen Gregorio Gil The author of this article has conducted a critical review of studies on migrations and gender relations made during the past two decades in Spain. Drawing on contributions from a feminist critique in social anthropology, she relocates the study of transnational migrations from the theoretical frameworks of reproduction and social change, assigning a central role to how care is organized, i.e., taking care of others and being cared for as an essential human need and the newly-formed (naciente ?) right within the international system (Borneman 1997:17). The author presents the potential of an ethnographic approach for deciphering differentiation processes involving gender, sexuality, ethnic group, race, and foreignness, as well as revealing the naturalization of the use being made of these categories in studies on transnational migrations. Keywords: social reproduction, social change, migrations, gender

577. Traditional markets in the Tehuacn-Cuicatln Valley: History and current situation Yaay Arellanes Cancino and Alejandro Casas Fernndez In this article, the authors describe the characteristics of what is considered to be a traditional market and the specific features of six markets in the Tehuacn-Cuicatln Valley, located in: Tehuacn, State of Puebla; Ajalpan, State of Puebla: San Sebastin Zinacatepec, State of Puebla, Teotitln de Flores Magn, State of Oaxaca; and San Juan Bautista Cuicatln, State of Oaxaca. In all of these markets, interviews were conducted with stallholders offering produce, which are part of their own subsistence and cultural tradition and are an essential part in these traditional markets. Moreover, they discuss the wealth of cultural elements associated with the diversity of these vendors, types of vendors, specificities of the different types of sales, dates when sales are the best, and the kinds of sales methods used, among others. The cultural and biological diversity one finds in markets in the Tehuacn-Cuicatln Valley are unique when compared to other markets in Mexico. Keywords: Tehuacn-Cuicatln Valley, traditional markets, ethnobotany, bartering or exchanges, peasant economy