Sustainability strategies of the former workers of the Natividad mining company, Oaxaca (Mexico)

Abstract

Since the denunciation of the Natividad mine in the eighteenth century, the mining company required labor for the extraction of gold and silver. In order to respond to this need, the company attracted people from the Serranas region with experience in the field, mainly indigenous Zapotec, to perform low-skilled jobs. The migration of the workers generated more stable human settlements around the tunnel, developing strong links between the population and the producer center. The objective of this article is to analyze the livelihood strategies of former workers of the Natividad mining company, implemented after their separation from the company. For this analysis, six life stories were used of former workers of the mining company that resided in the municipality of Natividad between 2011 and 2015. As part of the findings, five dimensions that are part of the livelihood strategies are highlighted: 1) the generation of work sources through self-employment, mostly characterized by precarization; 2) help from family members, primarily remittances and the support of their wives; 3) acquisition of properties; 4) social relations; and 5) resources obtained from federal social policy.