[Internal migration changes from 1980 to 1990].

From 1930 to the 1970s, internal migration in Mexico consisted mostly of permanent movement from rural areas to cities, and especially to the 3 metropolitan areas of Mexico City, Monterrey, and Guadalajara. The migrations highlighted the developmental disparities between different regions. Their main consequence was the transformation of Mexico from a predominantly rural to a predominantly urban country. The regions expelling population were primarily densely populated and relatively unproductive areas in the center and south. Migrant destinations were the more developed and urban states. By 1980-90, there were a number of changes in migratory patterns that, along with participation of a greater number of household members in marginal economic activities, represented alternative survival strategies adopted by large population sectors in the face of declining living standards, natural disasters such as the earthquakes of 1985, and increasing ecological and safety problems in the large cities. Changes in migratory behavior during the 1980s included appearance and growing importance of new destinations, and the combination of permanent and temporary migration and of internal and international migration in the same localities, households, or even individuals. Greater distances were covered by migrants in the 1980s, and the relationship between socioeconomic status and migration became more varied. Another change was the decreased importance of migration to the 3 metropolitan areas. Metropolitan Mexico City even became a net expeller of population. At the same time, many medium-sized cities such as Orizaba, Matamoros, Juarez, and Tiajuana have become attractive destinations for migrants from surrounding areas and from Mexico City. The case of Baja California illustrates the combined occurrence of different types of migrations. Baja California in past decades had a high rate in-migration, but its growth has slowed. A greater diversity of origins and destinations is observed, along with a greater diversity of time frames.