Linkages between international migration and agrarian extractivism in Guatemala

In this article, we examine the interconnections between international labor migration and extractivism through a case from Guatemala’s southwestern department of Retalhuleu. Expansion of extractive sugarcane production and sustained migration to the United States both have negative impacts on the availability and accessibility of land for smallholders in the six communities studied. The case reveals how migration and extractivism are entangled in ways that co-construct landscapes, leading to persistence in rural spaces as well as displacement. Findings also demonstrate that inflows of migrant remittances and savings can function as a ‘check’ on the territorial expansion or extent of extractivist enterprises.