Memoirs of the Salvadoran exile in Mexico, 1975 - 2002

Abstract

The approach to Salvadoran exile is complex, since it obeys a series of moments in which Salvadorans sought refuge in Mexico and other countries - throughout the twentieth century that have not yet been addressed within national historiography. Mexico has been a recipient of Salvadorans who fled to save their lives in two paradigmatic political contexts: during the presidency of General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez (1931 to 1944), and during the civil war (1980 and 1992). This paper addresses the political asylum achieved by Salvadorans before the period known as civil war (1975) and until the signing of the Peace Accords (1972); In this period, at least a quarter of a million Salvadorans received political asylum in Mexico. Exile is addressed in the memory of its protagonists, from the oral history gathered by the Archive of the Memory of the Latin American Exile in Mexico, and then I offer an evaluation of the memory on the exile in the memory and the Salvadoran historiography after the signing of the 1992 Peace Accords.The experience of the exiles is full of singularities: culture, daily life, political solidarity and economic factors shaped the various exiles. The transition from war to peace did not mean a return for the exiles. Some returned to the country of origin for a short time and began other migratory processes, since the exiles were not part of the national model or the political language.