La externalización migratoria en la relación bilateral Estados Unidos-México: la negociación de los protocolos de protección al migrante como consolidación de una tendencia de largo plazo

This article examines the externalization of asylum policies from States in the Global North to those in the Global South through the migration relationship between Mexico and the United States. The official and alternative narratives surrounding the US-Mexico negotiation of the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPPs) from 2019 to 2022 are based on semi-structured interviews, media analysis, and a narrative construction and analysis approach. As part of the findings, four moments in which Mexico had margins of action during the process of negotiating and accepting the MPPs are identified. The analysis contributes to the literature on the externalization of migration policies by recognizing the degrees of agency the Global South can attain in contexts of power asymmetry. In this context, internal variables such as inter-bureaucratic struggles, institutional displacement, and the centrality of the Executive Power are essential.