How come Esperanza and the others decided to leave Mexico?

There are a lot of reasons why Esperanza had to leave Mexico. The uncles killed her father and then asked the hand of her mother in marriage. This is not something that her mother wanted so she refused. After refusing the marriage, the uncles burned their house down.

It also did not help that life in Mexico was never the same after her father died. Esperanza and her mother were hidden in a wagon when they left Mexico in order to find new life in the United States. Esperanza feels that even though she is poor, she is still rich in her love of her family.