Abstract

CASTILLO, Manuel Ángel. The Mexico-Guatemala Border: New Controls on Transborder Migrations in View of Recent Integration Schemes?. Frontera norte [online]. 2003, vol.15, n.29, pp.35-64. ISSN 2594-0260.

The Mexico-Guatemala border has historically been the site of many continuities and discontinuities: economic, demographic, environmental, cultural, ethnic, and political. However, recent transformations-due generally to political conflicts on both sides of the border- and economic integration-mostly trade-related-raise serious challenges to traditional mechanisms for the control and regulation of border dynamics. From a "national security" perspective, officials in both countries are calling for crime control in the area of drug, merchandise, and weapons trafficking. Most importantly, the Mexico-Guatemala border has confirmed its historical role as a place of intense population mobility, which requires appropriate regulation that will not impede the human or labor rights of migrants nor the well-being and sustainable development of the regions of origin and destination. Hence, governmental policies and international relations become focal points for discussion at both binational and multilateral levels.

Keywords : border; migrations; integration; Mexico; Guatemala.

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