When Strangers Become Family examines the potential role of civil society organizations in guaranteeing the rights and addressing the needs of vulnerable groups, paying particular attention to their role in advocacy for and service delivery to older people. The book includes a discussion of the origins and functions of this sector that focuses on the relationship between the state and non-governmental organizations, as well as a close examination of Mexico – a middle-income nation with a rapidly aging population and limited state welfare for older people. The data reveals important aspects of the relationship among government actors, civil society organizations, and political parties. Ronald Angel and Verónica Montes-de-Oca Zavala ask the fundamental question about the extent to which civil society organizations represent a potential mechanism whereby vulnerable individuals can join together to further their own interests and exercise their individual and group autonomy.
Ronald J. Angel is Professor of Sociology at the University of Texas-Austin and coauthor, along with Jacqueline L. Angel, of Family, Intergenerational Solidarity, and Post-Traditional Society and Latinos in an Aging World.
Verónica Montes-de-Oca Zavala is Professor of Sociology and Demography at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She is the author of Envejecimiento en América Latina y el Caribe. UNAM and Oxford Institute of Ageing Population.