Moving Between the Local and the Global: Cross-Border Activism, Migration and Human Rights Between Chiapas and Guatemala

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss the results of research on the cross-border dynamics and interactions of human rights and grass-root organizations at the Mexican-Guatemalan border, which defend the demands and needs of migrants, and do political and social advocacy on a transnational, national and subnational level. Based on empirical research on the binational network Mesa de Coordinación Transfronteriza Migraciones y Género (Cross-border Coordination Bureau on Migrations and Gender)—which links parishes, local migrant and human rights organizations in the western and central regions of Chiapas and Guatemala, as well as professional ngos in Guatemala City and Mexico City—the paper addresses the following questions: What does networking mean for transnational and cross-border social activism? How do different levels of collective action articulate to make a functional network? On the theoretical level, it aims to show how dialogue between collective action theory and the field of migration studies might enhance new research on migration management and human rights, as well as help to develop conceptual and methodological frameworks which move beyond methodological nationalism.