Community formation in frontier Mexico: Accepting and rejecting new migrants

Through a comparison of two communities, this paper addresses village forma tion in frontier Campeche, Mexico. Mexico's village political unit, the eji do, allows farmers flexibility in deciding who may take up residence in the ir communities. The paper analyzes how established farmers employ ideas of ethnicity, family, and expectations of social strife to assess the longterm compatibility of newcomers. The paper further examines the role of economi c stratification, village factionalism, and development programs in structu ring acceptance into a village. The findings challenge prevalent economic e xplanations for migration and point to the need for research into the inter action of economic and political factors in intrarural migration.