Abstract

CENTENO GARCIA, Gerardo. The Migration of Mexican Legal Scholars: Causes and Perspectives for the Future. Mex. law rev [online]. 2022, vol.15, n.1, pp.3-42.  Epub May 26, 2023. ISSN 2448-5306.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iij.24485306e.2022.1.17171.

This article aims at describing the status of migration of Mexican legal scholars around the world. It defines who a legal researcher is, who performs and gets paid for this activity in Mexico and explains why the most common teaching method in law classrooms (magister dixit), alongside other factors like centralization, drastically hinders the production of original legal knowledge in Mexican law schools. The article presents data obtained through a survey presented to National Council for Science and Technology (CONACyT) scholarship recipients who studied abroad between 2012 and 2020. With said information, the author asserts that Mexico City students monopolized the scholarships to study abroad during the period in question. Moreover, evidence points out that most students awarded a scholarship came from socioeconomically privileged backgrounds, even though their schools did not produce original legal research. The article concludes with the assessment that the legal education system, the lack of academic professional opportunities and poor wages offered by the academia leave Mexican graduate law students with no other alternative than to join the private sector or effectively remain in the country where they decide to study.

Keywords : Migration; Mexican legal scholars; Legal research; Legal education; CONACyT.

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