Abstract

PARIS POMBO, María Dolores  and  MONTES, Verónica. Visibility as a Mobility Strategy: the Central American Exodus in Mexico (2018-2019). Entrediversidades rev. cienc. soc. humanid. [online]. 2020, vol.7, n.1, pp.9-36.  Epub June 30, 2021. ISSN 2007-7610.  https://doi.org/10.31644/ed.v7.n1.2020.a01.

Even though for decades there have been important movements of Central American people through Mexican territory in search of reaching the United States, no such large group had been observed travelingen masse, as was the case with the so-called migrant caravans in 2018-2019. This exodus has unprecedented characteristics in terms of human mobility in the region, concerning the organization, the number and the heterogeneity of people (adolescents, single mothers with children, unaccompanied minors, handicapped, elderly and LGTBQ people). This article shows that the visibility of the caravans was the decisive factor that allowed thousands of Central Americans to reach the border and cope with the violence that has characterized human mobility in Mexico. However, the collective force was lost as migrants dispersed along the road. Once in Tijuana and other border cities, the caravaneros had to face multiple risks individually and tended to become invisible again.

Keywords : Migrant caravans; (In)visibility; Human Mobility; Violence; Tijuana.

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