The caravanas de migrantes making their way north: problematising the biopolitics of mobilities in Mexico

Abstract

Since the Trump administration started its 'war on migrants' many of civil society's responses have been oriented to counter the impact of this 'war'. Such responses include the creation of sanctuary cities and providing legal defence to migrants. In Mexico, the actions of the Trump administration have also reverberated among migrant communities and within government circles. Ways of dealing with the challenges posed by the Trump administration range from policies directed at return migrants to providing shelter to Central American migrants in transit, to organising caravanas de migrantes to the Mexico-US border. This paper addresses how these caravanas have become the focus of biopolitical struggles among different authorities, migrant smugglers and civil society organisations. It argues that biopolitics is not just a state-initiated phenomenon, but that non-state actors are also practicing biopolitics.

Intention to Migrate Due to COVID-19: a Study for El Salvador

“…As reported by CONMIGRANTES ( 2017 ) and given the vast majority of Salvadorians abroad live in the US (2.89 million, 93% of the total), it is likely that people will consider migrating to this North American nation. Should such a scenario materialize, transit and destination countries (Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States) would also face health challenges associated with increased migration flows, as people normally travel in groups (Marchand, 2021 ; Martínez, 2021 ). Even when faced with extreme mobility restrictions in Central and North America, migrant caravans were increasingly used as a method for traveling to the US since 2011 (Marchand, 2021 ).…”

“…Should such a scenario materialize, transit and destination countries (Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States) would also face health challenges associated with increased migration flows, as people normally travel in groups (Marchand, 2021 ; Martínez, 2021 ). Even when faced with extreme mobility restrictions in Central and North America, migrant caravans were increasingly used as a method for traveling to the US since 2011 (Marchand, 2021 ). After a pause caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, migrant caravans re-emerged in late 2020 and early 2021 (Martínez, 2021 ; Semple & Wirtz, 2021 ).…”

Migrants on the Move and Food (In)security: A Call for Research

“…This deepens the invisibility of the migrant experience at its most vulnerable stage and precludes the effective guarantee of the rights to health and an adequate standard of living. Many interventions by both national and international organizations, and by State and non-State actors, provide food assistance to migrants on the move [ 34 , 61 , 62 ]. However, empirical data regarding the effectiveness of these interventions in addressing food insecurity in active mobility migrants are limited.…”

“… Created by the authors using dimensions and subdimensions as described by the FAO [ 13 , 21 ], in addition to anecdotal experiences and scientific articles [ 12 , 16 , 25 , 32 , 34 , 35 , 44 , 45 , 53 , 61 , 62 , 64 – 67 ] Migrants on the move are defined as the subcategory of migrants in transit who are in active mobility (they may travel on foot, by overland or water transportation (such as buses, cars, trains or boats) or through any mixture of these modalities [ 12 , 14 – 18 ] …”

“…Created by the authors using dimensions and subdimensions as described by the FAO [ 13 , 21 ], in addition to anecdotal experiences and scientific articles [ 12 , 16 , 25 , 32 , 34 , 35 , 44 , 45 , 53 , 61 , 62 , 64 – 67 ]…”