Based on a critical geopolitical analysis, this paper addresses the convergence of refugee policies and migration control policies in southern Mexico within the framework of border externalization and internalization. I posit that the border process in this region responds to both political and military interests espoused by the U.S. as well as Mexican governments. The refugee system is an instrument though which mobility is controlled, and the militarization and securitization of Mexico’s southern border can be legitimized. One consequence of this process is the indefinite blocking of migrants and asylum seekers in the city of Tapachula, Chiapas, and its current transformation into a “city-prison.”
A partir de un análisis geopolítico crítico, este artículo aborda la convergencia de las políticas de refugiados y de control migratorio en el sur de México en el marco de la externalización e internalización de las fronteras. Postulo que el proceso fronterizo en esta región responde a intereses tanto políticos como militares propugnados por los gobiernos de Estados Unidos y México. El sistema de refugiados es un dispositivo mediante el cual se controla la movilidad y se puede legitimar la militarización y securitización de la frontera sur de México. Una consecuencia de este proceso es el bloqueo indefinido de personas migrantes y solicitantes de asilo en la ciudad de Tapachula, Chiapas, y su actual transformación en una “ciudad-prisión.”
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