Winning a battle, losing the war

Migrant rights advocacy and its "influence" on the Mexican state

Datos Bibliográficos

ID5674331
AutoresTanya Basok (0000-0001-8361-7716, University of Windsor), Martha L Rojas Wiesner (0000-0001-7881-992X, El Colegio de la Frontera Sur)
Año2017
Volumen42
Número1
Páginas17-35
Fecha de publicación2017-01-02
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaCanadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revue canadienne des études latino-américaines et caraïbes (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0826-3663 • E-ISSN: 2333-1461
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08263663.2017.1281941
OpenAlexW2594893555
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas30

Social movement analysts have long recognized that it is not easy to assess outcomes of social activism since direct causality between activism and social, cultural, political, or legal changes is often difficult to trace. This article analyzes the complexities in evaluating the tangled relations between migrant rights activism and migration policy-making by drawing on insights from social movement theories and particularly the concepts of cognitive resonance and political opportunities. The case of Mexico’s civil society advocacy for the rights of Central American migrants and its impact on legal and administrative reforms provides an illustration of such a complex relationship. While admitting that civil society organizations contributed to certain migration reforms in Mexico, we suggest additional explanations for the Mexican state’s seeming openness to the demands advanced by pro-migrant civil society organizations. Furthermore, we argue that the Mexican state’s recent intensification of migration control, despite civil societies’ persistent criticisms, illustrates that, in fact, civil society organizations do not have much sway in shaping migration policies in this country

Battle · Civil rights · Civil society · Openness to experience · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social movement · Sociology · State (computer science · International Development and Aid · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Politics and Society in Latin America · Law · Social Psychology