Migratory movements have been part of human behavior since prehistoric times. Mesoamerica was an area defined by cultural elements that Mexico shared with Guatemala, El Salvador, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The consolidation of Mexico as a Nation State around 1920 was what gave rise to the separation of Mesoamerica and the creation of the laws of territory, citizens and nationals. This movement was the birth of Central American migrants in Mexico.
A migrant, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is a person who moves out of their place of residence, across an international border, temporarily or permanently. “Deep down, we have to see migration and these flows as something natural. And as a natural phenomenon, it should not be criminalized,” says Dr. Cecilia Costero, a researcher at the Colegio de San Luis (COLSAN).
According to the IOM in 2018, there were 272 million migratory flows worldwide. Where 48% is occupied by women, with an index of 38 million migrant children.
That a person decides to make the extreme decision to embark on an odyssey in search of a different or better life, comes as a solution to the problems that the population of these Central American countries face: these range from poverty, extreme insecurity, marginalization, violence, political persecution or organized crime to natural disasters.
Mexico and San Luis Potosí are key geographic locations for the transit to the United States of America of the migratory flow from Central American countries, mainly from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
“Generally, we think that migration issues have to be controlled by the Ministry of Foreign Relations and the Ministry of the Interior (which is where the National Migration Institute is registered). This way of dealing with the migratory phenomenon must be changed, because it has impacts on multiple sectors. We should have multisectoral, multi-institutional strategies. It is not just a matter of International Relations or SEGOB, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and other secretariats and institutions should enter to address the magnitude and importance of these issues”, said Costero.
Fortunately, in 2011, Mexico established laws that try to favor the migrant. According to the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), migrants in Mexico have the right to a nationality, freedom of transit, legal security and due process, consular assistance, request asylum, non-discrimination, recognition of the status of refugee, protection of the family unit, human dignity, not to be criminalized, to a decent accommodation, not to be held incommunicado, to an interpreter or translator and not to be detained in the vicinity or inside shelters.
In Mexico, the Mexican Commission for Aid to Refugees (COMAR) is the main one in charge of analyzing the migratory situation and refugee requests. However, the service of resolving the immigration status of many people has been affected by natural disasters and, currently, by the pandemic contingency caused by COVID-19 that the world is going through. It is very time consuming for migrants to obtain a resolution from the Mexican State.
The migration that is experienced in San Luis Potosí, not only comes from foreigners, but also from migrants from other states of Mexico who are also forced to relocate due to all the insecurity and violence that is suffered in the country.
The pandemic directly affected the economic and tourism sector, but Mexico has been able to have a respite thanks to the remittances from our compatriots in the United States of America. In 2020, 36 billion dollars were received in remittances.
COVID-19 has been a severe blow for everyone in the world, however, a migrant faces a pandemic from a trench of lack of knowledge about the effects of the virus and the relevant health measures to avoid contagion. Unfortunately, they also do not have access to the health system in the country in transit, or in the country of destination. Dr. Costero mentions that migrants find themselves at a very vulnerable point in terms of restricting their human rights due to the lack of access to many basic services, health being the main one. "We found that most of the airports and border points are closed and do not allow anyone to enter."
Foreign migratory flows in the country have been reduced between 60 and 70% since the pandemic began. “The migratory flow was reduced, but from October it began to increase. Inside the house it oscillates to 20 migrants and in the fields an average of 50 people a day”, said Lic. Geraldine Estrada, coordinator of the Casa de Caridad del Migrante in San Luis Potosí.
The Central American migrant has an almost obligatory passage through San Luis Potosí due to its border with 7 States of the Mexican Republic. It is important to mention that there is the presence of the consulates of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador in our state, as well as the support of the Casa de Caridad del Migrante (located at Calle Juan Álvarez 210, Barrio de Tlaxcala, SLP), which does not It only welcomes Central Americans, but also non-continental and deported Mexicans or internal migration. Within this non-governmental organization, the migrants obtain the basic services of accommodation, food, clothing, medical and psychological care, physical therapy and the accompaniment of management in terms of human rights.
When speaking with Geraldine Estrada about the pandemic situation inside the shelter, she mentioned that they are in voluntary isolation and that they welcomed people with mutilations, pregnant women, children and unaccompanied migrants who were in confinement since the beginning of pandemic. As well as compliance with all the sanitary rules that are required to avoid contagion.
As it was possible to read previously, migration is a phenomenon with many edges, origins and problems that still requires both political and social awareness and support.
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