Every year, between 800 000 and 1 million Central American migrants cross Mexico heading to the United States. Approximately 25 per cent of them are women. This text addresses the reasons why this exodus should be conceptualized and treated as a form of forced migration. It seeks to contextualize the development of the structural factors that force these women to flee their countries of origin. I argue that their flight from Central America is a strategic escape from three forms of violence: state-perpetrated violence, economic violence and patriarchal violence. I further suggest that this female flight is a form of resistance against patriarchy and capitalism in the contemporary world. This chapter is an ethnographic study based on the experiences of the Caravana de Madres Centroamericanas (Caravan of Central American Mothers) and interweaves their testimonies with the investigative research undertaken by Central American feminists. It is a reflective exercise framed within the discussion about global justice and migration, specifically within the coordinates of a feminism that analyses, acts and reflects on vulnerability and a livable life.
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Front Matter
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Part I: MIGRANT WORKERS AS GLOBAL LABOUR
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Part II: FAILURES IN REFUGEE PROTECTION
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Part III: NON-CITIZENS, RIGHTS AND BELONGING
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Part IV: ACHIEVING GLOBAL JUSTICE IN/THROUGH MIGRATION
