The Role of the Mexican Diaspora in National Emigration Policies

As a result of their increasing levels of empowerment back in their homeland countries, diasporas are emerging as international actors able to transform the nation-state in development and economic issues, as traditional studies suggest, but also in the emigration policy-making process.
Using an analysis of minutes from the plenary sessions of the Advisory Council of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad1 from 2003 to 2006, and several interviews conducted with Mexican politicians involved directly in the emigration policy process, this dissertation argues that the Mexican diaspora is an organized and empowered group capable of advocating its own interests, and has an active role in the formation of national emigration policies.
The strategies from emigration states, such as Mexico, to engage with their diasporas have been analyzed in the field of migration studies mostly as a top-down process. It has been argued that states with high rates of emigrants deploy different strategies including capacity building, extending rights, and extracting obligations (Gamlen 2008a) to establish a transnational relation with their emigrants living abroad. Nevertheless, the role of diasporas has not been deeply analyzed in this process. In fact, the empowerment of diasporas as transnational actors capable of engaging with their state and creating their own networks to influence emigration policymaking has not been fully recognized. This dissertation aims to contribute to this field by exploring how the migrant vote is, in part, the result of the diaspora’s intense and active role in negotiating and convincing transnational allies.
Thus, this study aims to investigate:
1) How and why the Mexican government engages with its diaspora;
2) The evolution of the relationship between the Mexican state and diaspora;
3) The integration of the diasporic voice in emigration policymaking;
4) The different channels of advocacy instituted by the Mexican diaspora.
This research will yield a better understanding of (1) the relation between the diaspora and the Mexican state, (2) the engagement and empowerment of the Mexican diaspora and (3) the role of the Mexican state in the determination of emigration policies.
This study discusses three main arguments. First, I argue that the consolidation of the Mexican diaspora as an actor involved in policymaking is the result of the interplay of interests with the Mexican state. Secondly, I argue that the Mexican diaspora has had a determinant role in the institutionalization of its relationship with the state, specifically with the foundation of the Institute of Mexicans Abroad (IME) and its Advisory Council (CCIME). Finally, I analyze the limitations of the official channels and the alternative means of communication developed by the Mexican diaspora to advocate its political and legal rights, specifically the right to vote from abroad.