From Category to Action. Transformations from Academia

INTRODUCTION
Like many migrants, I began my journey with an academic and life project, coming to pursue a degree at UNAM, one of Latin America’s most prestigious universities. However, in 2018, the political crisis in Nicaragua diverted my path and forced me to seek international protection in Mexico. Since then, I have experienced refuge within a context marked by structural inequalities that disproportionately affect people on the move, who are often seen as mere beneficiaries or victims, without being recognized as agents of change. This essay offers a critical and contextualized reflection on the link between forced displacement, inequality, and the urgent need to guarantee the meaningful participation of refugees in decision-making, both locally and internationally.

THE CAUSES OF DISPLACEMENT
When we talk about asylum or refugee status, we generally think only of political persecution. However, the causes behind forced displacement are diverse and go far beyond that. According to the Law on Refugees, Complementary Protection, and Political Asylum in Mexico (2011), recognition is granted not only to those fleeing due to race, religion, nationality, gender, membership in a social group, or political opinions, but also to those who cannot return to their country because their life, safety, or freedom has been threatened by widespread violence, internal conflicts, foreign aggression, or massive human rights violations, as indicated in the expanded definition of the 1984 Cartagena Declaration (ACNUR, 1984). This regional legal instrument, while not legally binding, highlights the multiple, structural causes of refuge in Latin America, deeply rooted in contexts of inequality and impunity. That is why I myself, like many others in my country, identify with this broader definition, which cannot be understood solely from a political perspective. What forced us to leave was also fear, impunity, and the impossibility of living a decent life in our countries of origin. Added to this, there is another common prejudice: the idea that refugees can only come from contexts of economic marginalization or limited access to educational opportunities. For many, it is incomprehensible that someone with postgraduate studies, as is my case, could also be a refugee. But refuge is not defined by educational level or social class, but by the urgent need to safeguard one’s life.

Event commemorating World Refugee Day, UNHCR, the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City, the General Coordination of Attention to Human Mobility of the Government of Mexico City and the Refugee Dialogue Mechanism.

Mexico allowed me to protect my life, but did not exempt me from experiencing other forms of inequality and violence, shared with the local population. As a woman in a country with one of the highest rates of femicide in Latin America [see p. XX in this issue], I have experienced constant fear, insecurity, and the normalization of violence in general as part of the everyday environment. My refugee status does not detach me from these realities; on the contrary, it connects me with them and reinforces my conviction that fundamental human rights are not defended individually: it is a collective task.

STRUCTURAL CAUSES OF REFUGE IN LATIN AMERICA, DEEPLY ROOTED IN CONTEXTS OF INEQUALITY AND IMPUNITY

MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION AND THE LINK WITH THE UNAM COMMUNITY
As part of the UNAM community and educated in its ethical principles, which include equality, critical awareness, respect for diversity, social responsibility, and commitment to justice and human solidarity, I have assumed an active commitment to human rights that transcends my status as a refugee.

Picture: Evelin Flores

This university-based approach to serving society has strengthened my conviction that my participation should not be limited to the local level, but should extend to any decision-making realm that directly impacts our lives. From this perspective, I have gone from being a beneficiary to becoming a political agent who contributes my own voice and perspective, not only in community spaces, but also in academic forums and regional advocacy networks.

My active involvement began at the local level with the creation of the Nicaraguan Association in Mexico, the first formally established organization of Nicaraguan refugees in the country. I am also part of the Mexico City Protection Group, where I lead the advocacy and communications subgroup as a refugee, which has allowed us to establish a direct channel of dialogue with the local government.

Picture: Evelin Flores

With that support, I contributed to the creation of MERLOS (Dialogue Mechanism between Refugee-Led Organizations and UNHCR Mexico, https://merlosmx.org/), formalized at UNAM’s Institute of Legal Research in December 2023. From there, my participation expanded to the international level: I was part of the Second World Refugee Forum, engaging with global commitments on legal matters and strengthening asylum systems. In 2025, our organization assumed the pro tempore presidency of the Dialogue Mechanism between Civil Society Organizations for the Comprehensive Regional Framework for Protection and Solutions (MIRPS). I am also part of the Articulating Group of Organizations Led by Refugees and Displaced Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean (GARLOS), which had a direct impact on the Cartagena+40 process (fortieth anniversary of the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, see box) and the Chile 2024-2034 Action Plan, where we now participate in the support platform of the Monitoring Mechanism along with other non-governmental actors, and which is chaired by the government of Chile with that of Mexico in the vice-presidency.

However, the path to participation has not been easy. In more than one space, we have faced dynamics of tokenism” (a mechanism that creates the impression of inclusion without changing an exclusionary reality), where we are expected to give testimony but not to participate in decision-making. We have also seen how our voices are heard but not taken into account. Therefore, insisting on meaningful participation is not just a formal demand: it is a struggle to occupy a legitimate place in the development of policies that directly affect our lives.

Forced displacement demands more than just humanitarian responses or acts of solidarity; it demands structural transformations, shared responsibility among stakeholders, and rights-based public policies. While our experiences are marked by pain, they can also be transformed into actions for change. Our participation can no longer remain merely symbolic and testimonial. Only when our voices, experiences, and knowledge are effectively integrated into the design, implementation, and monitoring of public policies can we truly speak of eliminating barriers, reducing inequalities, and building genuinely equitative and inclusive policies.

Cartagena+40 Ministerial Event, within the framework of the adoption of the Chile Declaration and Action Plan 2024-2034. In the photograph: Mr. Filippo Grandi, UNHCR High Commissioner; Maholy Sánchez, Coalition for Venezuela; and the author
Picture: Ana Lorena Valle

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