Abstract

IZCARA PALACIOS, Simón Pedro  and  ANDRADE RUBIO, Karla Lorena. Migration and violence: the caravans of Central American Migrants. Rev. colomb. soc. [online]. 2022, vol.45, n.2, pp.91-115.  Epub Jan 11, 2024. ISSN 0120-159X.  https://doi.org/10.15446/rcs.v45n2/95765.

Central American migrants transiting through Mexico to reach the United States are subjected to abductions, rape, and enforced disappearances. From October 2018 Central American migrants began to move in large groups known as migrant caravans to defend themselves against harassment by the authorities and the aggressions of organized crime. Unlike the traditional subreptitious migration model, the caravan migration model is bustling, visible, collective, and is imbued with a denunciation character. However, violence scenarios also emerged inside the caravans. The purpose of this article is to examine the forms of violence suffered by Central American migrants who joined the caravans.

This research is based on a qualitative methodological approach. The technique used for collecting discursive material was the in-depth interview. From July 2019 to February 2020, 24 Central American migrants (9 males and 15 women) were interviewed in four geographical areas of Mexico: Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Mexico City, and Puebla. We selected adults who joined one of the caravans formed during October and November of 2018 but abandoned the caravans to migrate alone due to scenarios of violence occurring inside the caravans.

The results show that women suffered the most violent situations. Women complained about everyday violence originating from interactions with the other actors in the social field of migration. Many women were victims of routine practices and expressions of interpersonal aggressions initiated by their male peers. To escape from everyday violence interviewed women decided to abandon the security of advancing as a group to emigrate alone. On the other hand, interviewed men left the caravans because they somatized a vision and division of the world that defined them as guilty and not deserving.

Keywords : caravans; Central American Migrants; everyday violence; Mexico; organized crime; symbolic violence.

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