Making the Journey: Transit Migration in Latin America

Abstract

Making the Journey is a fundamental work that addresses the migratory phenomenon as a multidimensional issue that transcends traditional approaches. From the perspective of an economist, the book is especially valuable in showing how transit migration responds not only to humanitarian or cultural factors but also to structural dynamics related to unequal development, labor precarization, labor market segmentation, and failures in global economic governance.

Each chapter stems from the same core problem: the situation of migrants in transit in Latin America, and develops it from different perspectives, revealing the need to integrate economic analysis with political, social, and legal dimensions. Key issues are addressed, such as transnational care networks, migration and trade policies, the economic impact of borders, and mobility as a strategy for both material and symbolic reproduction.

Taken as a whole, the book offers a compendium of research that challenges established categories and expands the analytical framework for understanding migration as a phenomenon deeply tied to the logics of capital, accumulation by dispossession, and structural inequality. From this perspective, Making the Journey not only provides interpretative insights but also poses crucial methodological and theoretical challenges for rethinking the role of political economy in the study of contemporary migration.