The Expansion of Cohabitation in Mexico, 1930–2010: The Revenge of History?

Mexico shares with most other Latin American countries a nuptiality system that is characterized by the coexistence of marriage and cohabitation. This dual nuptiality model (Castro-Martín 2002 ), with origins in pre-hispanic times, has been present for centuries. Despite the fact that cohabitation survived in Mexico with different intensity between regions and among several indigenous populations for such a long period of time, the shift from marriage to cohabitation in Mexico came relatively late by Latin American standards. In fact, the main increase in cohabitation occurs after 1990 and especially during the 2000–2010 decade. After the economic crisis of 1994–1995 the upward trend not only continues but also accelerates, so that the Mexican case too is an example of a sustained rise of cohabitation and not just of a temporary response to an adverse economic event. 1