Costa Oriental Digital Review

Presentation

Mario Valero Martínez

Every encounter between those dedicated to the study of border spaces and the various cross-border, legal, and illegal territorial interactions brings us progressively closer to understanding their complex and ever-changing nature. What happens today at a border may have a different meaning and assessment tomorrow. This is, perhaps, one of the hallmarks of our times, in which a stale nationalism has returned, no longer limited to the construction of walls and fences; now, its threats extend to specific fiscal sectors of national economies, using immigrants as currency and portraying them as responsible for all national “calamities”. Meanwhile, some leaders in immigrants’ countries of origin accept these policies without hesitation, seeking to shield their own embezzlement and ineffective efforts—often linked to the exodus—and thereby guarantee their permanence in power.

Despite these undesirable circumstances, borders are spaces of enormous multidimensional richness that foster encounters and cross-linkages among those who work in different fields of knowledge. A central theme emerges: borders and cross-border relations. This has been one of the values appreciated in the symposia organized by the National University of Costa Rica, Campus Nicoya, under the initiative of Professor Juan Carlos Ramírez Brenes and with the collaboration of colleagues from national and foreign universities. Such was the spirit of the II Symposium of Cross-Border Studies: Trends, Experiences, and Realities—Contributions for Research in Latin America, held in October 2023.

The event’s emphasis was purposefully placed on the reflections of each rapporteur and on their experiences within the framework of the four previously established thematic axes. The exchange of ideas on border-focused topics was fruitful: featuring approaches and trends in debate, open and plural discussions aimed at examining and deliberating on contemporary currents regarding borders and the challenges of understanding territorial dynamics in Latin America.

Equally successful were the presentations and exchanges concerning specific issues, which arose from research processes in case studies with their corresponding results and methodological contributions. Considerable interest emerged from presentations on cross-border mobility and interactions, which allowed for the examination and comparison of both formal and unconventional factors determining human mobility, interactions, and new migratory realities in Latin America. Finally, the topic of trade and its international facets was addressed—not only in terms of exchanging goods, but also regarding its cultural, social, and environmental impacts from new perspectives.

The debates on these issues proved highly satisfactory. In order to disseminate the results of the Symposium, we present eight articles that collectively address and discuss the themes introduced during the event. We wish, first and foremost, to thank the authors for agreeing to publish their work, which, we are certain, will help nurture border studies. Our special thanks also go to Dr. Juan Carlos Arriaga-Rodríguez, editor of the Revista Digital Costa Oriental and Professor at the Autonomous University of the State of Quintana Roo, for his support and for contributing to the dissemination of our work.