New migrant caravan settled in southern Mexico to ask the authorities for solutions

One of their main requests to the National Institute of Migration (INM) is that they be granted a temporary permit to travel to the border with the United States, warning that if they do not receive answers in that locality they will walk along the coastal highway to another office of the state of the United States. South of Mexico.

“The only thing we ask is that they give us free passage like Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras and Guatemala do, because we have been coming out of the economic crisis in our country and the purpose is to be able to obtain a better quality of life for our families,” he said. Daniel Rodríguez, Venezuelan migrant member of the caravan.

At the entrance to Huixtla, the migrants were installed by National Guard officials with anti-riot equipment, according to the authorities, to prevent them from trying to access the facilities in a disorderly manner.

“We are not enemies of the Government of Mexico, nor of its people, we are migrants who have been fleeing from hunger in our countries and in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Central America,” said Rodríguez, who also stated that Mexican officials have been placing obstacles to reach the US border.

During the morning of this Tuesday, different officials of the INM staff left the institute to attend to those people who had an appointment and who also had the complete protocol of the Mexican Commission for Refugee Assistance.

a hard journey

This caravan, before moving to Huixtla, camped for two weeks on the outskirts of the migratory regulation on the border with Guatemala, but since they were not attended by the Executive, they decided to start the journey.

Many of them have reported being sick with cough and flu after being under heavy rain last Sunday.

Others denounce having been victims of theft and deception, as is the case of Juan Carlos, a migrant from the Dominican Republic who explained that he left his country due to corruption and lack of job opportunities.

“In Mexico they have treated us well and we are waiting for attention,” said Juan Carlos, who is moved by the need to find a livelihood for his seven children and the hope of being able to send them remittances so that “they can have what they need.”

The majority group of this caravan is made up of some 600 children, 1,200 women and approximately 2,000 men. As they set out on their journey, they met another 400 people along the way, who joined the march to Huixtla.

Alexa, a Venezuelan migrant, who is also one of the spokespersons for the contingent, complained about the actions of the Police, who are trying to separate them and dissuade them from continuing the march.

“When the caravan was about to leave, they told us that they were going to help us and the police managed to disperse a group, and what they did was laugh, that is what they do to us here in Mexico, they do not care about our good faith and the need to people and we decided to do something, walk”, said Alexa.

Most of the children and women have presented discomfort due to the intense walk, lack of hydration, food and high temperatures, which reach up to 35 degrees Celsius worsened by the burning pavement.

The spokespersons for the migrants have asked the Mexicans, the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and non-governmental and human rights organizations, to provide them with supplies such as supplies, food and water to cope with the journey.

A petition to which the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) of Mexico joined this Monday, who “in a special way” requested that they be given “water, moisturizing serum, hygienic and adequate food, attention by medical personnel specialized and first aid, medicines and supplies for personal hygiene”.

In addition, they requested special attention for those people in a “special situation of vulnerability”, for whom a multidisciplinary team of doctors, psychologists, social workers and lawyers should be formed.

This is the 16th migrant caravan trying to cross Mexico to reach the United States. Most of it is made up of citizens from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and various Central American countries.

The migratory flow has been cataloged as a record during this 2022. The United States Customs and Border Protection Office has intercepted more than 1.6 million people from October of last year to date.

Currently, Mexico hosts more than 58,000 asylum applications so far this year, which represents an increase over last year of almost 15%, according to the Mexican Commission for Refugee Aid.

With information from EFE and AFP