Author: MARIA DE LA O
Migrants in transit in Guadalajara, Mexico: Labor strategies, precarious survival.
International migration has been linked to economic problems, political crises, natural disasters, and armed conflicts. In Mexico, migration has been fueled by several of these factors, and more recently, by drug trafficking and associated violence, aggravated by the weakening of the Mexican State and the tightening of United States immigration policies. The result is a vast human displacement, often forced and involuntary migration, involving not only Mexicans but also Central Americans and citizens of other nations. The continuous movement between Mexico’s southern and northern borders involves transit corridors that go through large urban centers such as Guadalajara in central Mexico. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the population in transit through the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara (ZMG) focusing on its demographic and labor features using the databases of the organization Dignidad y Justicia in Camino A.C. (Fm4 Paso Libre) from 2010 to 2017. This database allows understanding how women, men and children travel in conditions of high precariousness through this corridor, and the labor strategies they use to face the multiple challenges confronted in their journey.