This research on Ecuadorian migrants working in cleaning in Madrid, aims to explore their transnational ties from a gendered perspective. It focuses specifically on the nature of transnational family relationships especially in relation to parenting. The conceptual framework draws from several fields of research including gender and transnational migration, transnational families, masculinities and migration, as well as studies on the low-paid labour market. Theoretically, the thesis argues that a gendered and transnational approach benefits from recent conceptualisations which highlight how gender is both relational and a key constitutive element of migration, but that more research is required on the role of men in the creation and sustainability of transnational families. In bringing together research on transnational families as well as that on migrant workers, this study contributes to the emerging field of gender and transnational migration by analytically disaggregating along the following lines and distinguishing between: productive and reproductive work; domestic and contract cleaning work; and transnational and reunited families. Drawing on a questionnaire survey with 100 respondents and a total of 75 in-depth interviews, among which 33 were conducted with Ecuadorian migrants employed in domestic and contract cleaning in Spain, and 11 with families in Ecuador, the empirical and conceptual contributions suggest that migrant workers experience gains and losses in relation to challenging gender ideologies that is directly tied to the ways in which they construct their familial relationships. On the one hand, migrant workers challenge pre-existing gender norms through migration and by creating alternative family forms, yet on the other hand, they reinforce traditional gender stereotypes through the desire to recreate conventional families through reunification. Overall, this research uncovered the complexities of transnational families and shows that the nature of family life after reunification is as important as the transnationality of families.

The present Master dissertation analyzes the elites paper in the economic and political development of Uberaba city and the consequences in the production of the geographic space. This research occupy the period that extends of 1910 to 1960. We work with boarding theoretician and methodological of historical Geography and we seek to understand the relations of economic, social, cultural and politics production in Uberaba, constructing an analysis of the elites in their diversity and analyzing the power of these groups in different dimensions. The knowledge of the historic aspects of some social groups helps to explain the geographic transformations occurred in that space, and hinders the construction of models that do not correspond with the reality. In this perspective, we think that is essential to understand the (re)construction of the hegemonic power of these elites, as well as their values and strategies. In this research, in Uberaba (1910-1960), while maintenance instrument of the power in the economic relations, we evidenced that the political elaborated social nets that had formed a resistant society to the process of capitalist development. / A presente dissertação de mestrado analisa o papel das elites no desenvolvimento político e econômico do município de Uberaba, bem como os reflexos na produção do espaço geográfico, no período que se estende de 1910 a 1960. A partir de uma abordagem teóricometodológica da Geografia histórica, procuramos compreender as relações de produção econômica, social, política e cultural na cidade mencionada, construindo uma análise das elites em sua diversidade, e do poder destes grupos em diferentes dimensões. O conhecimento da historicidade de determinados grupos sociais ajuda a explicar as transformações geográficas ocorridas em seu espaço, e impede a construção de modelos que não condizem com a realidade. Nesta perspectiva, é imprescindível compreender a (re)construção do poder hegemônico destas elites, como também seus valores e estratégias. No desenrolar da pesquisa, constatamos que o político, enquanto instrumento de manutenção do poder nas relações econômicas, elaborou em Uberaba (1910-1960) teias sociais que formaram uma sociedade resistente ao processo de desenvolvimento capitalista. / Mestre em Geografia