Abstract

JACOBO, Mónica  and  DESPAGNE, Colette. Young Return Migrants: Building Alternative Notions of Citizenship in Mexico. Estud. sociol [online]. 2022, vol.40, n.119, pp.455-485.  Epub Dec 02, 2022. ISSN 2448-6442.  https://doi.org/10.24201/es.2022v40n119.2090.

This research examines young and adult returnees, belonging to the 1.5 generation of migrants in the US, during their return to Mexico. Our study analyzes the notions these young adults have about “being Mexicans” to understand how they experience and build their citizenship in Mexico. Our findings suggest that returning migrants go through two important learnings during their citizenship-building process. On the one hand, they learn to exercise their formal citizenship (rights and obligations) derived from their Mexican nationality. On the other hand, they also learn to become substantive “Mexicans in Mexico,” by developing acts of resistance that allow them to bridge the tensions associated with the creation of their own definition of Mexican citizenship.

Keywords : return migration; 1.5 generation migrants; formal citizenship; substantive citizenship; acts of citizenship; Mexico.