With intensification of intra-regional movements and the profusion of institutional frameworks under which migrants enter host societies, migration in Latin America has experienced increased diversification, with all such trends happening in times of acute uncertainty. In this context, there is an urgency to foster initiatives that connect junior researchers working on migration in the region.
In order to provide a bilingual space for multidisciplinary dialogue and discussion on these topics, the MiLA project hosted its first virtual Academic Roundtable that took place on Wednesday 13th January 2021, bringing together PhD candidates and early career researchers to discuss contemporary migration trends with a focus on Latin America. The twelve authors selected to present at the Roundtable, based on their level of innovation and merit, submitted developed research papers which were sent to our expert panellists in advance of the event.
The Roundtable took place in three sessions led by each of our panellists: MiLA’s lead investigator, Dr Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm from the University of Edinburgh, Dr. Alethia Fernández de la Reguera Ahedo and Dr Nuria González Martín from the Instituto de Investigaciones Juridicas (IIJ) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), and Dr Marcia Vera-Espinoza from Queen Mary University of London. Each session had an overarching theme relating to the papers being presented with presentations being followed by expert feedback from MiLA’s panellists, constructive comments by peers and concluded by the panellists with commentary on overarching themes and commonalities identified across the presentations.
The first panel, hosted by Dr Veronica Ruiz Abou-Nigm, focused on topics relating to integration and inclusion of migrants and began with opening words and an introduction to the MiLA project from Veronica. Presentations were kick-started by lawyer, Dr Regina Ingrid Díaz Tolosa, presenting on the inclusion of Chile in the Migrant Integration Policy Index 2020 (the research for which she was involved in) and highlighting that the integration index in Chile is 53 out of 100 with “migratory regulations and policies ensuring the right of migrants with nationals, but basically there are no opportunities to exercise them”. Carlos Jair Martínez Albarracín, a linguist by background, was next to present his paper, ‘The bilād ash-shām migration to Colombia: from Christians to Muslims’ which provided unique historical insight and an understanding of migration’s part to play in the linguistic and cultural diversity in Colombia today. The third presentation in this panel was given by Glorimar León Silva on the applicability of the European Model for protecting the cultural identity of Latin American migrants, particularly in relation to the protection of human rights in the detention and expulsion of migrants in the Chilean immigration system - a topic on which she wrote her doctoral thesis in law. An interesting perspective from an alternative discipline was given by Rudolph Ng, a lecturer in global history, who presented on the historic exclusion of Chinese migrants in Venezuela in the 1920s and 1930s.
The Roundtable continued with the focus of discussion shifting from integration to topics addressing migration from a gender and family perspective. Five out of six of the presenters in panel two (Isabel, Lina, Esteban, Eleonora and Javiera) are part of Mujeres & Fronteras; a research project who focus on comparative studies involving experiences of migrant women in the two busiest cross-border areas of Latin America: the triple-border of Paraná between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and the Andean Triple-border between Chile, Bolivia and Peru. Led by, Dr. Alethia Fernández de la Reguera Ahedo and Dr Nuria González Martín, the second panel started with a particularly original and innovative presentation from social anthropologist Isabel Araya Morales on corporal maps of Afro-Colombian women in Arica (the northern Chilean border). Lina Magalhaes, Esteban Nazal and Eleonora López Contreras presented their co-authored paper describing the expressions and patterns of patriarchal violence faced by Paraguayan migrant women in the Paraná triple-border, whilst Javiera Rivas Reyes considered the experiences of migrant Aymara women in the Andina triple-border. Participants also enjoyed an engaging presentation from one of MiLA’s own researchers and co-organiser of the Roundtable, Nuni Vieira Jorgensen, who presented research relating to her PhD project on the right to family life in Colombia and Chile for Venezuelan migrant families. Overall, the engaging presentations given in the second session of the Roundtable gave rise to some fascinating conversations.
The third and final panel of the day, led by Dr Marcia Vera-Espinoza, involved five fantastic presentations linked to wider migration governance and mobilisation which invited participants to consider processes and key actors shaping governance in the region. One of MiLA’s leading researchers, key organiser and human rights lawyer by background, Valentina Rioseco Vallejos, presented her research paper on the restrictions to access inn the Chilean Migration Reform 2018. This was followed by a super engaging presentation given by PhD candidate, Gabriela Patricia Garcia Garcia, who has since joined the MiLA team as a researcher, on (de)securitisation of refugees in Ecuador. Valeria Patiño, an aspiring human rights practitioner, was next to present her research on transnational networks for the defence of human rights, using the San Diego-Tijuana border as an insightful case study. The penultimate presentation was given by Diego Sánchez-Miranda on forms of citizenship developed by migrant organisations by the government of Sebastián Piñera. Santiago Esteban Laguna finished the day with his presentation on the Venezuelan migration crisis in Colombia and the challenges faced by integration policies. The panel ended with some closing comments from Marcia who noted commonalities across the different countries, including the increasing criminalisation of migrants across the region and an increase of border practices which allow questions to be asked about integration, inclusion and citizenship. Marcia also noted that the emergence of actors and strategies allows us to interrogate how the governance of migration is unveiling, but also changing, in Latin America and that research, as presented during the Roundtable, allows those questions to be answered from different perspectives.
Overall, MiLA’s first Roundtable was a success; providing a day full of fascinating and rich presentations based on informed and empirically grounded research. In particular, the event provided a valuable contribution to the exchange of knowledge on migration in Latin America by providing the opportunity for early career researchers to discuss their research in depth. Extending beyond the Roundtable, MiLA encourages the contributors to share their work with the MiLA project to enhance the community and network of researchers. Not only will this allow the theorisation of work from the South but will enable the expansion of literature and understanding of migration from Latin America. The MiLA Roundtable demonstrates that there is a network of researchers who are thinking and working around the mobility of migrants in the region and reinforces that there is a body of research being conducted from Latin Americans by Latin Americans about Latin Americans. If you would like to be part of the network and contribute to the MiLA blog, please email mila@ed.ac.uk for further details on how to get involved.
