PIP: The main causes of population mobility in Latin America have been 1) dissolution of the traditional rural societies, 2) expansion of the agro-industrial economy, and 3) consolidation of an urban economic and cultural model. Disparities in wages and exchange rates and inequality in development between different countries have led to emigration to countries at higher levels of economic development and to the industrialized Western countries. More recently, political instability and institutionalized violence in Central America have induced population movements to other countries in the region. 6 basic types of migration in Latin America are 1) seasonal migration of small farmers to urban areas or the rural areas in other countries, 2) migration by young rural people to cities or urban areas of other countries, 3) rural-urban and international migration by the whole family group, 4) international urban-urban migration by individuals or by the whole family group, 5) migration for family reunification, and 6) return migration. The predominant type of mobility has been from the countryside to the cities. Both men and women migrate, although the proportion of migrant women is increasing and women occasionally outnumber males. Migrant women generally find less skilled jobs which are less well paid. Migrant workers frequently have access only to less skilled and poorly paid jobs or enter the informal sector of the urban economy. The impact of migration on the structure and functioning of the family unit in the sending society is determined by the number, sex, and role of the family members who migrate. Other economic and social factors such as assistance received by the migrant, the work found, the level of income, and the specific characteristics of the receiving society determine the success of the venture, the capacity to some or all of the remaining family members. Family members who stay in the sending society must adjust their behavior in ways determined by the number, sex, and age of the family members concerned and the type of economic activities by the family. For the migrating family, settlement in the receiving society requires the development of new functions and specialized domestic activities by each of its members. Survival possibilities will be largely determined by assistance networks, the reorganization of the structure and functioning of the family group, and the adoption of new organizational patterns.