Migration: Experiences from Mexico and Morocco

May 26, 2023

Despite having historical, geographical, economic and cultural differences, Mexico and Morocco share a similar position on the global South-North border. Both countries have close links with their respective northern neighbours, the United States and the European Union, as evidenced by the intensity of trade, investment and aid flows, which have been fostered by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Euro-Mediterranean regional integration agreements, but also by the importance of migration between these regions of the world. Indeed, Mexico and Morocco have experienced an increase in immigration and also in transit migration from countries located further south, respectively in South America and sub-Saharan Africa. By being countries of origin and of transit of migrants, Mexican and Moroccan governments have been under pressure by the US and EU member states to increase border controls and internal policing in order to curb migration flows.

The aim of this webinar is to discuss the shared experience of Morocco and Mexico on migration issues, as both countries have been recognized as “Champion countries” for the implementation of the Global Compact for Migration, by understanding migration through an intersectional approach. 

Speakers
Guadalupe González Chávez
Coordinator of the Global, Regional, and Interregional Issues Knowledge Network, COMEXI
Member of COMEXI, of the National Institute of Public Administration in Mexico, and the Internet Society. She publishes the weekly column Nuevos Entornos in El Heraldo de México and collaborates in various academic spaces. She is an expert in strategic negotiation and communication, interested in global agenda and governance issues, regional and interregional affairs, parliamentary affairs, and comparative politics. As a consultant in the field of public affairs, she has collaborated with multilateral organizations and initiatives. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, as Director in the Multilateral Area, International Agenda, Liaison and Political Affairs, and Parliamentary Adviser at the Mexican Congress and Senate, as well as Director in the Government of Mexico ...
Iván Martín
Senior Fellow
Iván Martín is Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Governance, Economic and Social Sciences of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), and Associate Researcher at the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Immigration (GRITIM) at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. Between 2013 and 2016 he was Part-time Professor at the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) of the European University Institute in Florence, as well as member of the Expert Group on Economic Migration of the European Commission and Key Expert on Labour Migration providing External Technical Expertise on Migration to DG DEVCO of the European Commission (ETEM V Project). Formerly, he has been Senior Research Fellow at the Barcelona Centre for International A ...
Carlos Heredia
Member, COMEXI
Dr. Heredia has been since 2009 an Associate Professor in the Department of International Studies at the Center for Research and Teaching in Economics (CIDE), Mexico City, where he is also part of the Interdisciplinary Program for Studies on Migration (CIDE-Mig).  His research focuses on the political economy of Mexican and Central American migrants to the U.S., Latino communities, as well as the domestic drivers of Washington's foreign policy. He was a Member of Mexico’s 57th Congress from 1997 to 2000. He has held various positions in the Ministry of Finance, and the State Governments of Michoacán and of Mexico City.  He was the spokesman for international and economic affairs during the presidential campaign of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas in 2000. He has worked for 30 years wit ...
Amal El Ouassif
International Relations Specialist
Amal El Ouassif is an International Relations Specialist  at the Policy Center for the New South. Prior to this, she worked as a program coordinator at the Westminster Foundation for Democracy and served as a consultant in development policies with the office of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Morocco. She is also a former bluebook trainee in the Directorate General of Employment Social Affairs and Inclusion in the European Commission in Brussels. Amal has a Master of Art in EU’s International Relations and Diplomacy Studies, from the College of Europe in Bruges and a Master in Development Studies from UPMF-Grenoble. Her area of interest include Africa- Europe cooperation and migration. ...
Francisco Alba
Member, COMEXI
Francisco Alba is an economist and demographer; he is profesor and researcher at El Colegio de México, in Mexico. He has served as member of the Board of Governors of El Colegio de México (2008-2013). In Mexico, he has been member of the Advisory Council on Migration Policy,  at the Mexican Ministry of Interior (2014-2015); and member of the Advisory Council of the Mexican National Institute of Migration (2001-2012). Bilaterally, member of the U.S.-Mexico Binational Study on Migration (1995-1997). Internationally, he was member of the United Nations Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers (2004-2011); and member of the Global Commission on International Migration (2003-2005). At the U.S., he has been member of the Governing Council of the Populati ...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    Abdessalam Jaldi
    April 15, 2020
    Moroccans, like the citizens of other democratic countries in times of peace, have learned to take for granted some fundamental rights, including the freedom of movement and assembly. In the attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19, it has suddenly become evident to them that the enjoyment of these rights can be limited. This paper enquires about the compatibility of the state of health emergency proclaimed by the government and approved by the parliament in March 23, 2020 with Mo ...
  • Authors
    March 30, 2020
    */ Depuis le 12 mars, les frontières et les communications aériennes, maritimes et terrestres entre l’Espagne et le Maroc sont fermées à cause de la crise du COVID-19. Mais au-delà de la fermeture transitoire des frontières, la crise sanitaire, doublée de la crise économique qui se laisse déjà ressentir en Espagne, aura un fort impact sur un million de ressortissants marocains résidant en Espagne. Au 1er janvier 2019 (derniers chiffres officiels disponibles), leur nombre était de 8 ...
  • Authors
    January 20, 2020
    Le 3 octobre 2016, la Turquie a déposé une plainte contre le Maroc devant l’Organisation Mondiale du Commerce (OMC) au sujet des mesures antidumping appliquées par le Maroc contre les exportations turques en Acier laminé à chaud.1 Suite à l’échec des consultations entre les deux pays, la Turquie a demandé, le 12 janvier 2017, l’établissement d’un groupe spécial pour examiner la conformité des mesures prises par le Maroc avec le droit de l’OMC. Demande qui marque le passage du litige ...
  • Authors
    January 15, 2020
    The challenges against Morocco’s sovereignty over natural resources in Saharan districts will be thoroughly examined and criticized. First, the inaccurate interpretation by the EU court of the phrase “a status separate and distinct from an administering State” in the Declaration on Friendly Relations. Second, the unreasonable concept of a ‘de facto’ administering State in the decisions of the EU courts and the warlike concept of ‘military occupation’ over the territory under ceasefi ...
  • September 9, 2019
    One of the first sovereign decisions of independent Morocco was to create the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) on 14 May 1956. Since then, the mission of the Moroccan army is consistent with the country's historical continuity shaped by strategic constants, it has however been subject to both conceptual and operational pressures since the late 1990s, as the lines between defense and security have blurred. This paper explores the central issue of adjusting the Royal Armed Forces (FAR) to a r ...
  • Authors
    July 29, 2019
    Les relations du Japon avec le Maghreb sont alimentées par des éléments de projection très diversifiés, inégaux, vers des pays et des sociétés qui intéressent le Japon par eux-mêmes, mais dont l’importance est renforcée par leurs articulations avec les maillages, africain et moyen oriental. La décennie actuelle ne constitue pas le moment le plus fort de ces relations. La coopération entre le Japon et les pays du Maghreb reste significative, cependant. Les possibilités de développeme ...
  • March 20, 2019
    Le retour du Maroc à “sa famille institutionnelle “ à travers son adhésion à l’Union africaine (UA), il y a deux années, a nourri des espoirs sur la possibilité d’une évolution positive de la posture de cette Organisation sur la question du Sahara. Ce retour a, en même temps, suscité des appréhensions et des craintes sur d'éventuelles complications du dossier par une intrusion de l'Organisation continentale dans un processus exclusivement onusien, orienté, depuis 2000, vers la reche ...
  • Authors
    March 8, 2019
    Bouteflika ou ceux qui utilisent son image sont allés jusqu’au bout. Ils ont déposé la candidature du président sortant pour un cinquième mandat consécutif. Ni les gesticulations d’une opposition dépassée par les événements, et qui a préféré le boycott à la lutte, ni le mouvement des foules qui rappelle un certain ‘’Printemps arabe’’, n’ont dissuadé le régime de se maintenir dans sa position initiale : faire briguer au président un 5ème mandat. Panne d’alternatives Pourtant, aucun ...
  • Authors
    February 6, 2019
    Ce papier examine la plainte initiée par la Turquie devant l’Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC) contre le Maroc au sujet des droits antidumping appliqués aux produits d’acier laminés à chaud. La plainte de la Turquie constitue à la fois un précédent et une opportunité. Un précédant d’abord, car jamais le Maroc n’a été impliqué, ni en qualité de partie plaignante ni en qualité de partie défenderesse, dans une affaire devant le GATT ou l’OMC. Une opportunité ensuite, par ce que l ...
  • December 14, 2018
    AD TALK: MEDITERRANEAN AND NORTH AFRICAN DIMENSIONS OF THE ATLANTIC DYNAMICS Moderator Jeff Koinange, Senior Anchor, Citizen Television Speakers Amre Moussa, Former Secretary-General of the Arab League, Egypt Miguel Angel Moratinos, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Spain PLENARY IV: ...