Bodies on the border: The state, civil society and HIV at Mexico's Fronteras

Abstract

This article examines how HIV-focused civil society organizations operate at Mexico's northern and southern borders. Drawn from a larger study that uses interviews, participant observation, and document analysis to examine these phenomena at the national level in Mexico, this article provides clear evidence that shifting institutional opportunities and divergent policy frames shape organizational activity in these two border zones. While the United States largely frames border health as a question of national security, the Mexican government increasingly views disease as something to protect migrants from. Given these different perceptions and the inherently transnational nature of HIV/ADS, organizations respond to the opportunities and constraints of working on difficult border issues with hard to reach, vulnerable populations. Given recent indications that the Obama administration will provide support to militarize Mexico's southern border, this timely analysis captures the dynamics of civil society organizations’ operations in a moment of potentially shifting opportunity structures.