Alexandra Delano
My work is driven by a concern with the inequalities underlying the causes of migration, the structures that lead to the marginalization of undocumented migrants in the public sphere, and the limited protection of their rights. Through my scholarship and activism I am focused on engaging policymakers, advocates and community organizations to create dialogue, challenge our assumptions and reshape institutions, collaboratively and in solidarity across issues and across borders, towards equality and justice for everyone.
My research interests are mainly in the fields of Global Studies, Politics and International Relations, with a focus on global migration, transnationalism, Mexico-U.S. migration policies, diaspora engagement, immigrant integration, Latin American politics, regionalism and the politics of memory.
At The New School I am currently Associate Professor and Chair of Global Studies and I was formerly the co-director of the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility with Miriam Ticktin. I am also a member of the New School's Sanctuary Working Group (makesanctuary.org) and have served as faculty advisor for The New School Dream Team. I teach undergraduate and graduate courses such as "Immigration Politics in the U.S.", "Borders, Migrants and States", "Democracy, Security and Migration in the Americas", "Governing the Global", "Global Migration", "Introduction to Global Studies", "The Politics of Immigration in Action", "Social Action and Solidarity", "Transnational Border Lab: Theory, Practice and Scholar Activism", and "Senior Thesis Colloquium for Global Studies".
My book "From Here and There: Diaspora Policies, Integration and Social Rights beyond Borders" (Oxford University Press, 2018) looks at citizenship and immigrant integration from the perspective of countries of origin: specifically the processes through which Mexico and other Latin American countries are establishing programs to give their emigrant populations --particularly those with precarious migratory status-- better access to education, health, banking, labor rights, language acquisition and civic participation in the United States.
My previous book, "Mexico and its Diaspora in the United States: Policies of Emigration Since 1848" (Cambridge University Press, 2011 / Spanish translation El Colegio de México, 2014), focuses on the historical development of Mexico's diaspora engagement policies, explains the existing institutional architecture to provide services and consular protection to the Mexican population in the U.S., and argues that changes in the US-Mexico relationship over time have influenced the Mexican government's response to the issues faced by its population abroad.
I am currently working on projects around violence and the politics of memory in Mexico with Benjamin Nienass; on sanctuary, solidarity and practices of migrant care at the transnational level; and on migrant youth activism across borders.
I am happy to share some of my publications (listed under the CV section) upon request. Please get in touch if you have any comments or questions.
My research interests are mainly in the fields of Global Studies, Politics and International Relations, with a focus on global migration, transnationalism, Mexico-U.S. migration policies, diaspora engagement, immigrant integration, Latin American politics, regionalism and the politics of memory.
At The New School I am currently Associate Professor and Chair of Global Studies and I was formerly the co-director of the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility with Miriam Ticktin. I am also a member of the New School's Sanctuary Working Group (makesanctuary.org) and have served as faculty advisor for The New School Dream Team. I teach undergraduate and graduate courses such as "Immigration Politics in the U.S.", "Borders, Migrants and States", "Democracy, Security and Migration in the Americas", "Governing the Global", "Global Migration", "Introduction to Global Studies", "The Politics of Immigration in Action", "Social Action and Solidarity", "Transnational Border Lab: Theory, Practice and Scholar Activism", and "Senior Thesis Colloquium for Global Studies".
My book "From Here and There: Diaspora Policies, Integration and Social Rights beyond Borders" (Oxford University Press, 2018) looks at citizenship and immigrant integration from the perspective of countries of origin: specifically the processes through which Mexico and other Latin American countries are establishing programs to give their emigrant populations --particularly those with precarious migratory status-- better access to education, health, banking, labor rights, language acquisition and civic participation in the United States.
My previous book, "Mexico and its Diaspora in the United States: Policies of Emigration Since 1848" (Cambridge University Press, 2011 / Spanish translation El Colegio de México, 2014), focuses on the historical development of Mexico's diaspora engagement policies, explains the existing institutional architecture to provide services and consular protection to the Mexican population in the U.S., and argues that changes in the US-Mexico relationship over time have influenced the Mexican government's response to the issues faced by its population abroad.
I am currently working on projects around violence and the politics of memory in Mexico with Benjamin Nienass; on sanctuary, solidarity and practices of migrant care at the transnational level; and on migrant youth activism across borders.
I am happy to share some of my publications (listed under the CV section) upon request. Please get in touch if you have any comments or questions.
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Books by Alexandra Delano
Extant theories are often hard-pressed to capture the empirical variation and often end up identifying ‘exceptions’. The multidisciplinary group of contributors in this book theorise these ‘exceptions’ through three interrelated conceptual moves: first, by focusing on understudied aspects of the relationships between states as well as organised non-state actors and their citizens or co-ethnics abroad (or at home - in cases of return migration). Second, by examining dyads of ‘origin’ states and specific diasporic communities differentiated by time of emigration, place of residence, socio-economic status, migratory status, generation, or skills. Third, by considering migration in its multiple spatial and temporal phases (emigration, immigration, transit, return) and how they intersect to constitute diasporic identities and policies. These conceptual moves facilitate comparative research and help scholars identify the mechanisms connecting structural variables with specific policies by states (and other actors) as well as responses by the relevant diasporic communities.
This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
reconstrucción, reconciliación y recuperación del espacio público.
overview of diaspora studies, we wanted to capture the vitality
and variety of research being carried out in this field. Different
epistemological standpoints inform the ways in which contributors use the term ‘diaspora’. They fall along a spectrum between emphasising group identity as the bounded object of institutional intervention, to understanding diasporic belonging and mobilisation in more fluid, dynamic and performative ways.
Co-Winner, William M. LeoGrande Prize for Best Book on U.S.-Latin American Relations, American University, February 2013
"In this fascinating history of migration from Mexico to the United States, Alexandra Délano shows the view from Mexico City looking north. Mexican diplomats have attempted to manage Mexico's connections with its emigrants within the context of a highly complex relationship with their giant U.S. neighbor. This book is required reading for anyone interested in the diplomacy of international migration and the continuing saga of the ties binding these two countries."
- David FitzGerald, author of A Nation of Emigrants: How Mexico Manages Its Migration
"This masterful review of Mexico's policies towards its nationals emigrating to the United States sheds new light on one of the most important issues in the Mexico-U.S. bilateral relationship - ways the two countries can cooperate to manage immigration. The sweep of the book is impressive, examining Mexican emigration policies from 1848 to the present. This is a very welcome addition to the literature on diaspora politics as well as immigration reform."
- Susan Martin, Donald G. Herzberg Associate Professor of International Migration, Georgetown University
"The irrationality of a labor system based on illegality and high levels of risk for the Mexican workers desperately needed by U.S. employers is blatant. Yet the political leaders on both sides of the militarized border seem incapable of finding rational and humane solutions. In this scholarly and engaged book, Alexandra Délano analyzes the twists and turns in more than 150 years of U.S.-Mexican relationships, and shows how the current situation has come about. It is essential reading for all who make policies, work with migrants, and study migration."
- Stephen Castles, Research Chair in Sociology, University of Sydney
"Delano's sophisticated analysis of Mexico's pro-diaspora programs makes for important reading, as it reveals not only major shifts in U.S.-Mexican relations but also the worldwide crumbling of traditional notions of national sovereignty."
- Richard Feinberg, UCSD, Foreign Affairs
"...Mexico and Its Diaspora offers a refreshing perspective in a well-trodden field and raises broader questions about the extent and conditions under which originating states can manage migration to maximize benefits for both domestic and expatriate citizens."
- Marta Tienda, Princeton University, Americas Quarterly
"In this book, Délano makes some extremely important interventions that enlighten our understanding of Mexican immigration to the United States and the policy of both Mexico and the United States toward this migrant population. Délano's comprehensive look at the policies governing Mexico's relationship to its citizens abroad makes more accessible an extremely diverse and complicated landscape of institutions, allegiances, organizations, and networks across both sides of the border."
- Alyshia Gálvez, Lehman College, CUNY
"Délano needs to be complimented for a comprehensive treatise on the evolution of Mexican emigration policies and the role of its diaspora in the United States. Her work equally touches on the political clout that the Diaspora has acquired in Mexico and provides a mine of factual data, and useful information and analysis for understanding the relationship ‘not in the limited context of migration, but in the larger context of bilateral relationship, between the two countries."
-Ambassador Paramjit S. Sahai, Diplomacy
"Alexandra Délano ha escrito un libro fundamental para el desarrollo de los estudios migratorios que se convertirá en consulta obligada para los diseñadores de políticas públicas, los académicos y los mismos migrantes que nunca han dudado que la nación mexicana se extiende más allá de sus fronteras políticas."
-Rafael Alarcón, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Política y Gobierno
"Scholars of international migration have shown increasing interest in what has variously been termed ‘state-led transnationalism’, ‘diaspora engagement policies’, or ‘global nations policies.’ Whatever moniker is applied, this field of research has focused on the interpretive frames and policy discourses and practices developed by migrant-sending states over recent decades that have expanded the boundaries of ‘the nation’ and developed mechanisms from extra-territorial voting rights to investment incentives seeking to re-integrate emigrants into political, economic and social institutions within the homeland. Alexandra Délano has given us the most comprehensive account to date of the rationale and the content of the Mexican state’s policies in this area."
-Matt Bakker, Colorado College, Ethnic and Racial Studies
"Délano presciently accomplishes two important tasks: 1) theorizing on the actions of a subordinate state that expanded its influence vis-à-vis the United States, and 2) providing a study of changing Mexican multilevel policies that provide an innovative corrective to those interpretations that document only the dominant power or fail to recognize weak states in relations with the United States. In the case of Mexico, the author reveals why it asserts itself to defend its diaspora through bilateral relations and domestic policies of decisive importance to emigrants in the United States."
-Immanuel Ness, Perspectives on Politics (2013)
"Too often migration studies focus exclusively on the perspective of host countries. However, international migration is multi-dimensional. Delano’s book is a careful and systematic account of the role that the origin country takes in institutionalising and building relations with the diaspora"
-María Aysa-Lastra, Florida International University, Bulletin of Latin American Research (2013)
“¿Cuál es la capacidad real del gobierno mexicano para diseñar e implementar una política migratoria coherente? ¿Qué impacto han tenido las acciones consulares de México en Estados Unidos? ¿Nuestro país ha buscado influir internamente en el país vecino del norte a través de su política migratoria? Pocos son los especialistas, como Alexandra Délano, que han ofrecido un análisis integral del tema migratorio, es decir, no sólo antropológico, sino también social, político y económico. Délano ha desarrollado un material único, ya que permite responder a estas y otras preguntas desde distintos ángulos teóricos, tomando en cuenta los diferentes momentos históricos de la relación binacional. La perspectiva integral de la autora traza la transformación de la política migratoria de México desagregando factores internos, transnacionales e internacionales.”
-Andrea Daniela Martínez Hernández, Revista Mexicana de Política Exterior, núm. 101, mayo-agosto de 2014, pp. 270-272.
“El estudio de la migración mexicana a Estados Unidos vive una etapa de oro. Son múltiples los trabajos que desde diversas perspectivas académicas (sobre todo sociología, antropología y demografía) han abordado numerosos aspectos relacionados con la migración de hombres, mujeres y niños a Estados Unidos. El
libro de Alexandra Délano viene a sumarse de manera brillante a la bibliografía sobre el tema y abonar a la reflexión de la actuación oficial mexicana desde la dimensión internacional de las políticas de emigración…”
-Fernando Alanís Enciso, Historia Mexicana, núm. 260, 2016, pp. 1933-1937.
In the past two decades, changes in the Mexican government's policies toward the 30 million Mexican migrants living in the United States highlight the importance of the Mexican diaspora in both countries given its size, its economic power, and its growing political participation across borders. This work examines how the Mexican government's assessment of the possibilities and consequences of implementing certain emigration policies from 1848 to 2010 has been tied to changes in the bilateral relationship, which remains a key factor in Mexico's current development of strategies and policies in relation to migrants in the United States. Understanding this dynamic gives an insight into the stated and unstated objectives of Mexico's recent activism in defending migrants' rights and engaging the diaspora, the continuing linkage between Mexican migration policies and shifts in the U.S.-Mexico relationship, and the limits and possibilities for expanding shared mechanisms for the management of migration within the NAFTA framework. "
Papers by Alexandra Delano
Ilustración: Kathia Recio
Sin poder nombrar el porqué, dejé el país a los 22 años. Busqué todas las oportunidades posibles para estudiar fuera de México. Así fue como llegué a la frontera norte, a enfrentarme con la realidad de mi país fuera de mi país. En la Ciudad de México había estudiado en una escuela privada en donde nos inculcaron valores de justicia social y comunidad. Con mis compañeros construimos una biblioteca en una comunidad cercana; pintamos murales; trabajamos (y más bien estorbamos) en una escuela rural autosustentable; participamos como asesores en programas vespertinos para niños de una escuela pública y en programas de educación para adultos. Desde nuestro espacio protegido conocimos las realidades de desigualdad, discriminación y pobreza de México y aprendimos que había formas de participar y generar cambios poco a poco. Pero fue en la frontera en donde entendí el privilegio que significaba poder esperar a que cambiaran las cosas cuando a un lado mío había mujeres y hombres —muchos de mi edad o menores— dispuestos a perder la vida, a someterse a abusos y condiciones de trabajo inaceptables, y a vivir con el dolor inconmensurable de separarse de sus hijos por encontrar otra opción fuera de México, por darle algo mejor a su familia, por escapar de otra muerte.
Llevo ya 12 años viviendo en Estados Unidos, pero con la mirada siempre en México, siempre volviendo y buscando la posibilidad de esos cambios. De este lado he aprendido sobre la resistencia, sobre la fuerza de quienes ya han sacrificado tanto y persisten en su lucha por los demás. Desde aquí he entendido cómo se construyen puentes entre organizaciones comunitarias, instituciones públicas y privadas, gobiernos, empresas y sociedad civil para lograr transformaciones desde lo íntimo y lo local hasta lo nacional; la diferencia entre lo efímero y lo que perdura cuando hay participación democrática, transparencia y rendición de cuentas. Desde estos espacios transnacionales, transfronterizos he visto cómo se abren posibilidades para construir otras formas de participación social y política; otras maneras de relacionarnos y de solidarizarnos que a veces logran romper con diferencias y desigualdades de género o de clase que en México a veces parecen impensables. Desde los movimientos sociales a favor de los derechos de las personas que migran también he visto cómo ser de aquí y de allá, y abrir nuestra perspectiva para ver el otro lado, nos da la posibilidad de reimaginar nuevas formas de ciudadanía, participación y solidaridad, en ambos lados de la frontera.
Cada vez que cruzo la frontera de regreso a México recuerdo lo que es vivir en ese estado de alerta que aprendí de niña. Me vuelvo a preparar para eso que llega sin anunciarse y que cada vez es más devastador: miles de desaparecidos y muertos, periodistas asesinados, feminicidios. Y es la misma impunidad, la misma corrupción, la misma injusticia y la misma desigualdad que hace que todos los esfuerzos por organizarnos y lograr cambios parezcan tan lejanos e inasequibles. Pero también veo la voluntad de lucha, la fuerza de la sociedad civil y su movilización: del EZLN hasta el Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad, las asociaciones de familiares de desaparecidos que caminan sin descanso en medio de una búsqueda y un dolor que es de todos, las caravanas de madres, o las mujeres que bordan por la paz cada domingo en la plaza de Coyoacán.
Es ahí donde hay esperanza para reimaginar y reconstruir nuestro país: en los ejemplos cotidianos de quienes luchan por recuperar los espacios que hemos perdido, esos espacios que han cedido frente al miedo, la brutalidad de las violencias y al conformismo de quienes tienen el privilegio de poder esperar desde su comodidad a que las cosas cambien algún día, o que no cambien en lo absoluto. Es ahí, desde los ejemplos de tenacidad para recuperar espacios públicos, denunciar y resistir injusticias una y otra vez, y hacer de ello una lucha permanente que es de todos y requiere alianzas entre sectores, en donde se puede reconstruir el tejido social. Es ahí en donde podemos recuperar una visión de comunidad, transformar nuestras instituciones, hilar otro presente, otros futuros.
Alexandra Délano Alonso
Profesora de Asuntos Globales en la universidad The New School en Nueva York. Es autora de México y su diáspora en Estados Unidos: Las políticas de emigración desde 1848.
Abstract: this essay examines how the institute of mexicans abroad's programs, focused on assistance for mexican migrants in the united states in areas such as education and health, contribute to providing information and skills that allow them to access services and participate in institutions in their country of destination. the socioeconomic characteristics of mexicans in the united states and their migratory status, as well as the political and institutional context of the country of destination are critical to understand the space within which actors beyond the us government, including civil society groups and the governments of other countries — in this case mexico — fulfill the role of supporting integration, as a mechanism to provide access to rights. n
Palabras clave: diáspora, políticas de vinculación con la diáspora, integración, transnacionalismo, política exterior , migración, mexicanos en el exterior.
Extant theories are often hard-pressed to capture the empirical variation and often end up identifying ‘exceptions’. The multidisciplinary group of contributors in this book theorise these ‘exceptions’ through three interrelated conceptual moves: first, by focusing on understudied aspects of the relationships between states as well as organised non-state actors and their citizens or co-ethnics abroad (or at home - in cases of return migration). Second, by examining dyads of ‘origin’ states and specific diasporic communities differentiated by time of emigration, place of residence, socio-economic status, migratory status, generation, or skills. Third, by considering migration in its multiple spatial and temporal phases (emigration, immigration, transit, return) and how they intersect to constitute diasporic identities and policies. These conceptual moves facilitate comparative research and help scholars identify the mechanisms connecting structural variables with specific policies by states (and other actors) as well as responses by the relevant diasporic communities.
This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies.
reconstrucción, reconciliación y recuperación del espacio público.
overview of diaspora studies, we wanted to capture the vitality
and variety of research being carried out in this field. Different
epistemological standpoints inform the ways in which contributors use the term ‘diaspora’. They fall along a spectrum between emphasising group identity as the bounded object of institutional intervention, to understanding diasporic belonging and mobilisation in more fluid, dynamic and performative ways.
Co-Winner, William M. LeoGrande Prize for Best Book on U.S.-Latin American Relations, American University, February 2013
"In this fascinating history of migration from Mexico to the United States, Alexandra Délano shows the view from Mexico City looking north. Mexican diplomats have attempted to manage Mexico's connections with its emigrants within the context of a highly complex relationship with their giant U.S. neighbor. This book is required reading for anyone interested in the diplomacy of international migration and the continuing saga of the ties binding these two countries."
- David FitzGerald, author of A Nation of Emigrants: How Mexico Manages Its Migration
"This masterful review of Mexico's policies towards its nationals emigrating to the United States sheds new light on one of the most important issues in the Mexico-U.S. bilateral relationship - ways the two countries can cooperate to manage immigration. The sweep of the book is impressive, examining Mexican emigration policies from 1848 to the present. This is a very welcome addition to the literature on diaspora politics as well as immigration reform."
- Susan Martin, Donald G. Herzberg Associate Professor of International Migration, Georgetown University
"The irrationality of a labor system based on illegality and high levels of risk for the Mexican workers desperately needed by U.S. employers is blatant. Yet the political leaders on both sides of the militarized border seem incapable of finding rational and humane solutions. In this scholarly and engaged book, Alexandra Délano analyzes the twists and turns in more than 150 years of U.S.-Mexican relationships, and shows how the current situation has come about. It is essential reading for all who make policies, work with migrants, and study migration."
- Stephen Castles, Research Chair in Sociology, University of Sydney
"Delano's sophisticated analysis of Mexico's pro-diaspora programs makes for important reading, as it reveals not only major shifts in U.S.-Mexican relations but also the worldwide crumbling of traditional notions of national sovereignty."
- Richard Feinberg, UCSD, Foreign Affairs
"...Mexico and Its Diaspora offers a refreshing perspective in a well-trodden field and raises broader questions about the extent and conditions under which originating states can manage migration to maximize benefits for both domestic and expatriate citizens."
- Marta Tienda, Princeton University, Americas Quarterly
"In this book, Délano makes some extremely important interventions that enlighten our understanding of Mexican immigration to the United States and the policy of both Mexico and the United States toward this migrant population. Délano's comprehensive look at the policies governing Mexico's relationship to its citizens abroad makes more accessible an extremely diverse and complicated landscape of institutions, allegiances, organizations, and networks across both sides of the border."
- Alyshia Gálvez, Lehman College, CUNY
"Délano needs to be complimented for a comprehensive treatise on the evolution of Mexican emigration policies and the role of its diaspora in the United States. Her work equally touches on the political clout that the Diaspora has acquired in Mexico and provides a mine of factual data, and useful information and analysis for understanding the relationship ‘not in the limited context of migration, but in the larger context of bilateral relationship, between the two countries."
-Ambassador Paramjit S. Sahai, Diplomacy
"Alexandra Délano ha escrito un libro fundamental para el desarrollo de los estudios migratorios que se convertirá en consulta obligada para los diseñadores de políticas públicas, los académicos y los mismos migrantes que nunca han dudado que la nación mexicana se extiende más allá de sus fronteras políticas."
-Rafael Alarcón, El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, Política y Gobierno
"Scholars of international migration have shown increasing interest in what has variously been termed ‘state-led transnationalism’, ‘diaspora engagement policies’, or ‘global nations policies.’ Whatever moniker is applied, this field of research has focused on the interpretive frames and policy discourses and practices developed by migrant-sending states over recent decades that have expanded the boundaries of ‘the nation’ and developed mechanisms from extra-territorial voting rights to investment incentives seeking to re-integrate emigrants into political, economic and social institutions within the homeland. Alexandra Délano has given us the most comprehensive account to date of the rationale and the content of the Mexican state’s policies in this area."
-Matt Bakker, Colorado College, Ethnic and Racial Studies
"Délano presciently accomplishes two important tasks: 1) theorizing on the actions of a subordinate state that expanded its influence vis-à-vis the United States, and 2) providing a study of changing Mexican multilevel policies that provide an innovative corrective to those interpretations that document only the dominant power or fail to recognize weak states in relations with the United States. In the case of Mexico, the author reveals why it asserts itself to defend its diaspora through bilateral relations and domestic policies of decisive importance to emigrants in the United States."
-Immanuel Ness, Perspectives on Politics (2013)
"Too often migration studies focus exclusively on the perspective of host countries. However, international migration is multi-dimensional. Delano’s book is a careful and systematic account of the role that the origin country takes in institutionalising and building relations with the diaspora"
-María Aysa-Lastra, Florida International University, Bulletin of Latin American Research (2013)
“¿Cuál es la capacidad real del gobierno mexicano para diseñar e implementar una política migratoria coherente? ¿Qué impacto han tenido las acciones consulares de México en Estados Unidos? ¿Nuestro país ha buscado influir internamente en el país vecino del norte a través de su política migratoria? Pocos son los especialistas, como Alexandra Délano, que han ofrecido un análisis integral del tema migratorio, es decir, no sólo antropológico, sino también social, político y económico. Délano ha desarrollado un material único, ya que permite responder a estas y otras preguntas desde distintos ángulos teóricos, tomando en cuenta los diferentes momentos históricos de la relación binacional. La perspectiva integral de la autora traza la transformación de la política migratoria de México desagregando factores internos, transnacionales e internacionales.”
-Andrea Daniela Martínez Hernández, Revista Mexicana de Política Exterior, núm. 101, mayo-agosto de 2014, pp. 270-272.
“El estudio de la migración mexicana a Estados Unidos vive una etapa de oro. Son múltiples los trabajos que desde diversas perspectivas académicas (sobre todo sociología, antropología y demografía) han abordado numerosos aspectos relacionados con la migración de hombres, mujeres y niños a Estados Unidos. El
libro de Alexandra Délano viene a sumarse de manera brillante a la bibliografía sobre el tema y abonar a la reflexión de la actuación oficial mexicana desde la dimensión internacional de las políticas de emigración…”
-Fernando Alanís Enciso, Historia Mexicana, núm. 260, 2016, pp. 1933-1937.
In the past two decades, changes in the Mexican government's policies toward the 30 million Mexican migrants living in the United States highlight the importance of the Mexican diaspora in both countries given its size, its economic power, and its growing political participation across borders. This work examines how the Mexican government's assessment of the possibilities and consequences of implementing certain emigration policies from 1848 to 2010 has been tied to changes in the bilateral relationship, which remains a key factor in Mexico's current development of strategies and policies in relation to migrants in the United States. Understanding this dynamic gives an insight into the stated and unstated objectives of Mexico's recent activism in defending migrants' rights and engaging the diaspora, the continuing linkage between Mexican migration policies and shifts in the U.S.-Mexico relationship, and the limits and possibilities for expanding shared mechanisms for the management of migration within the NAFTA framework. "
Ilustración: Kathia Recio
Sin poder nombrar el porqué, dejé el país a los 22 años. Busqué todas las oportunidades posibles para estudiar fuera de México. Así fue como llegué a la frontera norte, a enfrentarme con la realidad de mi país fuera de mi país. En la Ciudad de México había estudiado en una escuela privada en donde nos inculcaron valores de justicia social y comunidad. Con mis compañeros construimos una biblioteca en una comunidad cercana; pintamos murales; trabajamos (y más bien estorbamos) en una escuela rural autosustentable; participamos como asesores en programas vespertinos para niños de una escuela pública y en programas de educación para adultos. Desde nuestro espacio protegido conocimos las realidades de desigualdad, discriminación y pobreza de México y aprendimos que había formas de participar y generar cambios poco a poco. Pero fue en la frontera en donde entendí el privilegio que significaba poder esperar a que cambiaran las cosas cuando a un lado mío había mujeres y hombres —muchos de mi edad o menores— dispuestos a perder la vida, a someterse a abusos y condiciones de trabajo inaceptables, y a vivir con el dolor inconmensurable de separarse de sus hijos por encontrar otra opción fuera de México, por darle algo mejor a su familia, por escapar de otra muerte.
Llevo ya 12 años viviendo en Estados Unidos, pero con la mirada siempre en México, siempre volviendo y buscando la posibilidad de esos cambios. De este lado he aprendido sobre la resistencia, sobre la fuerza de quienes ya han sacrificado tanto y persisten en su lucha por los demás. Desde aquí he entendido cómo se construyen puentes entre organizaciones comunitarias, instituciones públicas y privadas, gobiernos, empresas y sociedad civil para lograr transformaciones desde lo íntimo y lo local hasta lo nacional; la diferencia entre lo efímero y lo que perdura cuando hay participación democrática, transparencia y rendición de cuentas. Desde estos espacios transnacionales, transfronterizos he visto cómo se abren posibilidades para construir otras formas de participación social y política; otras maneras de relacionarnos y de solidarizarnos que a veces logran romper con diferencias y desigualdades de género o de clase que en México a veces parecen impensables. Desde los movimientos sociales a favor de los derechos de las personas que migran también he visto cómo ser de aquí y de allá, y abrir nuestra perspectiva para ver el otro lado, nos da la posibilidad de reimaginar nuevas formas de ciudadanía, participación y solidaridad, en ambos lados de la frontera.
Cada vez que cruzo la frontera de regreso a México recuerdo lo que es vivir en ese estado de alerta que aprendí de niña. Me vuelvo a preparar para eso que llega sin anunciarse y que cada vez es más devastador: miles de desaparecidos y muertos, periodistas asesinados, feminicidios. Y es la misma impunidad, la misma corrupción, la misma injusticia y la misma desigualdad que hace que todos los esfuerzos por organizarnos y lograr cambios parezcan tan lejanos e inasequibles. Pero también veo la voluntad de lucha, la fuerza de la sociedad civil y su movilización: del EZLN hasta el Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad, las asociaciones de familiares de desaparecidos que caminan sin descanso en medio de una búsqueda y un dolor que es de todos, las caravanas de madres, o las mujeres que bordan por la paz cada domingo en la plaza de Coyoacán.
Es ahí donde hay esperanza para reimaginar y reconstruir nuestro país: en los ejemplos cotidianos de quienes luchan por recuperar los espacios que hemos perdido, esos espacios que han cedido frente al miedo, la brutalidad de las violencias y al conformismo de quienes tienen el privilegio de poder esperar desde su comodidad a que las cosas cambien algún día, o que no cambien en lo absoluto. Es ahí, desde los ejemplos de tenacidad para recuperar espacios públicos, denunciar y resistir injusticias una y otra vez, y hacer de ello una lucha permanente que es de todos y requiere alianzas entre sectores, en donde se puede reconstruir el tejido social. Es ahí en donde podemos recuperar una visión de comunidad, transformar nuestras instituciones, hilar otro presente, otros futuros.
Alexandra Délano Alonso
Profesora de Asuntos Globales en la universidad The New School en Nueva York. Es autora de México y su diáspora en Estados Unidos: Las políticas de emigración desde 1848.
Abstract: this essay examines how the institute of mexicans abroad's programs, focused on assistance for mexican migrants in the united states in areas such as education and health, contribute to providing information and skills that allow them to access services and participate in institutions in their country of destination. the socioeconomic characteristics of mexicans in the united states and their migratory status, as well as the political and institutional context of the country of destination are critical to understand the space within which actors beyond the us government, including civil society groups and the governments of other countries — in this case mexico — fulfill the role of supporting integration, as a mechanism to provide access to rights. n
Palabras clave: diáspora, políticas de vinculación con la diáspora, integración, transnacionalismo, política exterior , migración, mexicanos en el exterior.