Remontar fronteras para trabajar en el sur de México: el caso de adolescentes de Guatemala en Tapachula

A combination of legal provisions for the management of border and cross-border migration flows, on the one hand, and measures related to the minimum working age and the “eradication of child labor”, on the other, have had different effects on the dynamics and experiences on the international mobility of Guatemalan adolescents who participate in the temporary informal work activities in the city of Tapachula, Chiapas. The application of such legal provisions without regard to contexts, circumstances, and causes of migration, as well as age-specific differentiations, has increased risks and vulnerabilities for migrants under the age of 18. This situation contradicts the human rights approach that authorities themselves proclaim on the recognition of this population as a subject of rights. In this context and based on interviews in Tapachula, this article emphasizes the obstacles that Guatemalan adolescents must overcome to cross the border and work in this city.