Internal forced displacement and transformations of indigenous territorialities in Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract. A geographical study was realized, incorporating temporal and spatial elements of the border region, on forced internal displacement (FID) in Chiapas, Mexico. The period analyzed begins in 2010 and ends in 2024, with the recording of forced internal displacement that becomes forced external or international displacement within the borders of Mexico and Guatemala, due to the dispute over control of the borders between drug cartels and organized crime groups, all amid heightened militarism and paramilitarism that has continued unabated since 1997. From a border perspective, the concept of DFI is used to reconstruct the territoriality of the affected communities. Methodologically, information obtained from various sources was processed in a GIS and verified in the field using GPS points, resulting in maps that allowed the increase in DFI to be visualized at the municipal level. The research is relevant because it provides georeferenced databases on the subject and because it takes an approach that is rarely used to study forced mobility in Mexico.