From La Malinche to El Jamaicón: Neoliberal Governmentality Regimes in Contemporary Mexico

Melissa Ley-Cervantes

doi:10.3989/rdtp.2015.01.002

Abstract

This paper analyses the tension present in narratives around ‘belonging’ in a group of middling Mexican migrants in Madrid, through the analysis of two mythical figures whose stories are determined by their attitudes towards the other: La Malinche and El Jamaicon. The paper argues that both figures are part of the neoliberal governmentality regimes at work in contemporary Mexico, which seek to foster loyalty to the nation state and, at the same time, competitiveness at the global level. While La Malinche has permeated public discourse since the colonial era and represents the shifting attitudes towards hybridization and mix; El Jamaicon is a lesser known contemporary hero who fell from grace when overcome by homesickness, in a world where travel and movement are decisive in the definition of middle class identity. Constantly (re-) produced in public discourse as cautionary tales regarding Mexican attitudes towards the outside world, these figures have come to illustrate the roots and routes of ‘Mexican identity’.

Highlights

This paper analyses the tension present in narratives around ‘belonging’ in a group of middling Mexican migrants in Madrid, through the analysis of two mythical figures whose stories are determined by their attitudes towards the other: La Malinche and El Jamaicón
The paper argues that both figures are part of the neoliberal regimes at work in contemporary Mexico, which seek to foster loyalty to the nation-state and at the same time, competitiveness at a global level
The paper deals with widespread ideas about ‘Mexican identity’, it focuses on a group of relatively privileged Mexican migrants in Madrid —postgraduate students, professionals, trailing partners— in which the use of both mythical figures was documented through semi-structured interviews and participant observation between 2008 and 2011

Summary

Introduction

This paper analyses the tension present in narratives around ‘belonging’ in a group of middling Mexican migrants in Madrid, through the analysis of two mythical figures whose stories are determined by their attitudes towards the other: La Malinche and El Jamaicón. The paper argues that both figures are part of the neoliberal governmentality regimes at work in contemporary Mexico, which seek to foster loyalty to the nation state and, at the same time, competitiveness at the global level. While La Malinche has permeated public discourse since the colonial era and represents the shifting attitudes towards hybridization and mix; El Jamaicón is a lesser known contemporary hero who fell from grace when overcome by homesickness, in a world where travel and movement are decisive in the definition of middle class identity. (re-) produced in public discourse as cautionary tales regarding Mexican attitudes towards the outside world, these figures have come to illustrate the roots and routes of ‘Mexican identity’

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion