Beyond Walls and Cages: Prisons, Borders, and Global Crisis

Understanding Conquest through a Border Lens: A Comparative Analysis of the Mexico-U.S. and Morocco-Spain Regions

27 Understanding Conquest through a Border Lens A Comparative Analysis of the Mexico-­ U.S. and Morocco-­ Spain Regions cynthia bejarano, maria cristina morales, and said saddiki This chapter draws on the experiences of vulnerable populations in the Mexico­ U .S. and Morocco-­ Spain border regions through the concept of border sexual conquest (bsc).1 We have used border sexual conquest in other writings as an apparatus to understand violent phenomena and forms of resistance in vulnerable places (e.g., Mexico-­ U.S. border). We find the concept’s elasticity useful as the basis for a comparative exploration of two transcontinental regions. There are four interlocking components of bsc: (1) political-­ economic structures that create “disposable” workers; (2) the subjugation of a local place and region due to its exploitable, profitable potential; (3) gender and class inequality; and (4) people’s resistance and agency to wrestle with human and regional vulnerability .2 The subjugation of place is especially relevant since global industries and legal and illegal trade search for the most vulnerable, manageable, and marginalized places and people to exploit. The examples of such spaces in this chapter are the Mexican-­ U.S. and Moroccan-­ Spanish border regions, which are characterized as geopolitically charged, exploitable, and profit-­ driven. We use bsc as a comparative analytical tool to explore violent phenomena in ostensibly different border regions. We discuss the migration patterns of vulnerable people through these subjugated regions, and the measures used by colonized or colonizing nation-­states to stop migration flows and drug trafficking. 28 • bejarano, morales, and saddiki Based on our experiences living and working on the Mexico-­ U.S. border and the Morocco-­ Spain border, we recognize colonized histories, migratory movements, export processing zones, drug and human trafficking narratives, and border fence enforcement in both places. Both regions have also become increasingly militarized through a variety of strategies and tactics, all coupled with criminal justice systems that are then used to justify “wars” on drugs and immigration. We argue that within the Mexican-­ U.S. and Moroccan-­ Spanish border regions, colonialism has resurfaced through neocolonialism; nation-­ state policies damage vulnerable communities by forcing mass migrations of economic refugees through policed spaces. Using this broad framework, we explore similar phenomena at both borders. Analyzing Comparative Transcontinental Crossings and Fragmented Borders Mexico and the United States share a highly contested, fortified, and controversial two-­ thousand-­ mile border. With the exception of the short territorial boundaries of Ceuta and Melilla and their Moroccan hinterlands, the Spanish-­ Moroccan border is a maritime border, whether on the Mediterranean or the Moroccan Atlantic coast opposite the Spanish Canary Islands. And it is equally contested. Both borders have marginal status compared to the rest of their respective countries. The U.S.-­ Mexico border is socially isolated from the rest of the United States, since it neighbors a developing country, has some of the highest levels of poverty in the United States, and is largely populated by people considered to be racial and ethnic minorities.3 Ceuta and Melilla are two important enclaves in northern Morocco that have been controlled by Spain since the end of the reconquista. Melilla was the first to fall under Spanish rule in 1497, and Ceuta (seized by Portugal in 1415) was transferred to Spain under the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668.4 Since 1986, with Spain’s entry into the European Community (later, the European Union), the two enclaves have been considered eu territories and the frontline of what became known as “Fortress Europe.” In 1993, the fencing of the enclaves’ perimeters started under the pretext of preventing irregular migration.5 Today, the Spanish government continues to strengthen and renovate these fences by using new, advanced technologies. Since the mid-­ 1990s, because of their unique geographical location, the two enclaves—as de facto eu territories in North Africa—are now the desired crossing points for thousands of sub-­ Saharan African migrants. Irregular migrants prefer this direction because they can reach “European soil” by entering Understanding Conquest • 29 the enclaves even if they are still in Africa, and it is a less costly and less risky route than riding the waves of the Mediterranean or Atlantic seas to an unknown fate. Although stopping and preventing irregular migration and drug trafficking are the principal stated objectives of reinforcing the fences of Ceuta and Melilla, perpetuating the status quo and the Europeanization of the two enclaves remain key long-­ term goals...