An Impossible Living in a Transborder World : Culture, Confianza, and Economy of Mexican-Origin Populations

They Are Known As Cundinas Or Tandas In Mexico, And For Many People These Local Savings-and-loan Operations Play An Indispensable Role In The Struggle To Succeed In Today’s Transborder Economy. With This Extensively Researched Book, Carlos Vélez-ibáñez Updates And Expands Upon His Major 1983 Study Of Rotating Savings And Credit Associations (roscas), Incorporating New Data That Reflect The Explosion Of Mexican-origin Populations In The United States. Much More Than A Study Of One Economic Phenomenon Though, The Book Examines The Way In Which These Practices Are Part Of Greater Transnational Economies And How These Populations Engage In—and Suffer Through—the Twenty-first Century Global Economy. Central To The Rosca Is The Cultural Concept Of Mutual Trust, Or Confianza. This Is The Cultural Glue That Holds The Reciprocal Relationship Together. As Vélez-ibáñez Explains, Confianza “shapes The Expectations For Relationships Within Broad Networks Of Interpersonal Links, In Which Intimacies, Favors, Goods, Services, Emotion, Power, Or Information Are Exchanged.” In A Border Region Where Migration, Class Movement, Economic Changes, And Institutional Inaccessibility Produce A Great Deal Of Uncertainty, Mexican-origin Populations Rely On Confianza And Roscas To Maintain A Sense Of Security In Daily Life. How Do Transborder People Adapt These Common Practices To Meet The Demands Of A Global Economy? That Is Precisely What Vélez-ibáñez Investigates.