The caravans of undocumented migrants from Central and South America are one of the priority issues for the bilateral agendas of Mexico and the United States (USA); not so much the flow of Americans who see Mexico as a nation of low costs of living and the new American dream for many, even if they are undocumented.
According to figures from the Government of Mexico, between January and September 2022, 8,412 Temporary Resident Cards ( TRT ) have been issued to US residents, which meant an increase of just over 1,500 applications (23% ) compared to the same period in 2021, when they reported 6,838.
But this gap more than doubles when comparing this year’s figures with 2020, a period in which Mexico granted 3,550 permits. In other words, in the last two years, the number of temporary residence permits granted to Americans has increased by 136.6%.
One of them was the social media user identified as frankie189smith, who now resides in Xalapa, Veracruz, after “fleeing” from the nation to which thousands of men, women, and children yearn to arrive, so much so that sometimes they risk their lives in their attempt to fulfill or approach the “American Dream”.
However, frankie189smith assured in a Tik Tok video that an even greater increase in the flow of Americans to Mexico is expected in the next two years. This, according to what he explained, is due to two factors: the first, political unrest in the face of the serious polarization between Democrats-Republicans. And the second, the economic recession reflected in the “crazy” housing costs in large cities, which, he said, rent comes to around $5 or $6 thousand dollars every month ($90 to $100 thousand Mexican pesos).
So far, the clip has more than three thousand comments. And although in some of these they expressed surprise at the exposed political situation, in others they did not hesitate to question the justification of the financial aspect and, therefore, question the migratory status with which the TikToker would be residing.
“Everything is expensive in Mexico”, “Please stop saying that Mexico is cheap. When you earn in Mexican pesos, tell us”, “Mexico is cheap for those who are lined with dollars ” or “Mexico should start requiring foreigners who live there to pay taxes and see their stay as they do here (in the US)”. Those were some of the comments that accumulated the most likes and in which they referred to the problem of gentrification that captured public attention a few months ago.
According to Argentine academics, Luciana Boldrini and Matilde Malizia, gentrification refers to an urban transformation where the interest of the market is prioritized. The problem arises when the process involves displacing or replacing the population that lives there with another with greater purchasing power, causing rents, food, or health services to increase their costs and are only affordable for a minimum percentage of society.
The almost scarce – if not null – review by the Mexican authorities of US migrants and the strengthening of the Home Office in times of pandemic, encourage the settlement of Americans in Mexico with remote jobs paid in dollars (a currency that, being twenty times more valuable than the Mexican peso, they make life in Mexico much more affordable).
According to data from the Ministry of Tourism (Sectur), approximately 9.7 million US citizens have arrived as visitors from January to September 2022. However, the Mexican authorities do not know how many of these remain in the country.
This was recognized in 2019 by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs ( SRE ), Marcelo Ebrard, who in an interview for The Washington Post accepted that a large part of North Americans residing in Mexico could be undocumented. Still, he said, the government has shown little interest in solving it.
“We have never pressured them to keep their documents in order.”
In addition to this, he pointed out that the flow was beginning to “become an important cultural phenomenon” for the country – almost like that of the Mexican community in the US -, but the reality is that currently (three years after that declaration) gentrification has gained strength in the public agenda, where regulation of this problem that has afflicted the population of Mexico City ( CDMX ), in areas such as Condesa or Roma, has been demanded; Jalisco, in Puerto Vallarta or Guadalajara; San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato, or on the Nuevo León and Chihuahua borders. Especially for the topic of housing and rents where foreigners have caused an increase in real estate so much so that many Mexicans are forced out of their cities and homes to make way for those with dollar-lined pockets.
However, the Mexican authorities have (almost) ignored the claims. Instead, they have said that they are proud that foreigners come to live in Mexico, especially in the capital: “They are welcome. You must never be against foreigners,” said President López Obrador ( AMLO ).
“Some see it very well, others say that they come to make things more expensive. What is my opinion? I see it well. (…) You should never take a position against the migrant, the one who wants to live in another place”.
Or they even promote initiatives to promote cultural tourism in order to increase the number of digital nomads residing in Mexico, as pronounced by the Head of Government of the capital, Claudia Sheinbaum.
“Our goal is for digital nomads to continue arriving in Mexico City (…) What we want is to promote it even more,” said the official on October 26.
The caravans of undocumented migrants from Central and South America are one of the priority issues for the bilateral agendas of Mexico and the United . . .
