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International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

226912

Waves of exile

the reception of Émigrés in Mexico, 1920–1980

Pablo Yankelevich

pp. 151-179

Abstract

Among all nations receiving political refugees, Mexico stands out in a compelling way. Immigration's contribution to the country's demographic composition has always been low; the volume of foreigners has never exceeded one percent of the total national population. More than a country of immigrants, Mexico is a country of migrants. Throughout its history, the number of people who left Mexico has been higher than the number of people who have arrived to reside there permanently. That said, from the 1920s through the late 1970s, there was a constant flow of politically persecuted refugees. These arrivals in Mexico resulted from a combination of individual strategies and massive procedures: in many cases, there was clear support from the Mexican government and in others, travel and entry to Mexico were made possible by personal or political networks. In all of these diasporas, there was a constant presence of academic and intellectual refugees, and the Spanish Republican exile set a precedent for incorporating exiles into research and teaching. To a greater or lesser extent, major institutions of higher education took on this challenge, El Colegio de México being the most faithful to this tradition. The two great waves of exiles—those of Spain and South America—formed their teaching staff, participated in the creation of research centers, and contributed to academic projects that renewed knowledge in the fields of social sciences and humanities.

Publication details

Published in:

Pries Ludger, Yankelevich Pablo (2019) European and Latin American social scientists as refugees, Émigrés and return‐migrants. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Pages: 151-179

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-99265-5_7

Full citation:

Yankelevich Pablo (2019) „Waves of exile: the reception of Émigrés in Mexico, 1920–1980“, In: L. Pries & P. Yankelevich (eds.), European and Latin American social scientists as refugees, Émigrés and return‐migrants, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 151–179.