Crossing Mexico’s Southern Border

Rafts used to cross Rio Suchiate, the river that divides Mexico and Guatemala. Photo by Miriam Harder.

Miriam Harder is the regional coordinator of MCC Latin America’s work in conservation agriculture and is seconded to Otros Mundos, a local organization in Chiapas.  She lives three hours from Mexico’s southern border in San Cristóbal de Las Casas.

“Are you going to the other side? I’ll take you for 5 quetzales ($0.65US).”

I was walking with a fellow MCCer towards the Rio Suchiate, the river that divides Guatemala and Mexico, in Tecun Uman, the southernmost official border crossing.

“No we just want to look at the river.”

I have never been to the northern border of Mexico, but I could not help but be struck by what must be a dramatic contrast.  Here, in front of me, instead of a large wall, was an area of significant raft traffic: people, eggs, soft drinks, ‘Japanese’ peanuts, toothpaste, etc. loading onto rafts on one side of the river and unloading on the other side—all this within clear sight of the bridge and controlled port of entry between Mexico and Guatemala.

Who are these people crossing on the rafts?  Some are importing or exporting products, at a relatively small scale, to the other side of the border to avoid paying import taxes.  Some are headed over to work on the other side or to do their shopping.  Guatemalans are able to be in Mexico, but many have not applied for the official permission nor have official ID, so are not able to pass through official crossings.

The border is porous and relative.  There are only about 9 official crossing points along the 871 km Mexico/Guatemala border and a lot of uncontrolled mountainous or jungle territory.  As with the northern border, the current political delineation has only been in its current location since 1882.  Prior to this, Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico, was part of Guatemala.  The Mayan territory, commonly associated with Guatemala, extends into Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula.

Photo by John VanderHeide

Significant numbers of Guatemalans come to Chiapas to work as domestic and agricultural labourers (corn, sugar cane, coffee, fruit).  Despite officially having labour rights, it is very common to work longer hours with little job security or health insurance.  At the same time Chiapas has historically been an important sending state of migrants to the United States, specifically due to its low minimum wage.   Currently the minimum wage is 64 pesos (less than $5US) for a day’s work in Chiapas. Technically, Guatemala’s minimum wage is slightly higher, but in reality, many Guatemalan workers are paid a fraction of the minimum wage, with indigenous workers and women often paid even less. Additionally, working conditions are much worse in Guatemala due to the lack of government supervision of business practices.

While the vast majority of movement across the border at Tecun Uman/Ciudad Hidalgo is circular, this also marks the point at which Central Americans can no longer travel freely.  Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua have an agreement that any citizen of these four countries can travel with their ID in any of the other three countries.  Central Americans may enter into Mexico relatively freely on their journey north in hopes of employment, reunification with family or seeking asylum (increasingly more common for Hondurans), but a bit further into Mexico, they begin to encounter check points and the danger of coming into contact with migration officials, military, police, organized crime and inhospitable Mexican civilians.

Until 2005, this was the busiest border crossing, as La Bestia (the freight trains traveling north through Mexico), started in Tapachula, a short distance in from the border.  After Hurricane Stan wiped out bridges and tracks, the train’s starting point moved to Arriaga.  A couple hours by bus on this heavily controlled section of highway (and obviously much longer on foot for migrants seeking to avoid checkpoints) made this route less desirable.  Significant traffic is now happening further north through the lowland jungle regions of Guatemala and Chiapas towards Palenque, where another train begins.  There are recent rumours, however, of a regular train starting again in Tapachula.

As on Mexico’s northern border, there are numerous organizations working along this border supporting migrants, including migrant shelters run by various Catholic orders, the International Organization for Migration, and other civil society organizations. Up until now, Mennonite Central Committee has had little formal work with migration on the Mexico/Guatemala border, but that seems to be changing.  Last month, representatives and workers from MCC Mexico and MCC Guatemala visited this border region and began talks of a coordinated strategy to support and protect migrants. With increasing work on the U.S./Mexico border, various partners working with migrants in Mexico City, and MCC programs in Guatemala and throughout Central America, building a formal link across this southern border seems like a crucial next step.