Movilidad humana y cárceles. Trayectorias y experiencias de varones migrantes privados de libertad

Abstract

In this article, I present an analysis of the life experiences and trajectories of migrants in Uruguay, based on research on human mobility and deprivation of liberty. This article aims to characterize this population and offer tools to question the assumptions and categories often used in academic and state circles. I will address these aspects basing on my master's research fieldwork with prison officers and non-national prisoners, especially with migrants who have passed through the Uruguayan prison system between 2019-2022. Taking into account the research results, I analyze these trajectories in relation to three levels. Firstly, I describe the mobility trajectories of the individuals I interviewed to identify various forms of displacement and their links with Uruguayan society and the state, even if in prison they are labelled as "foreigners". Secondly, I examine migrants' migratory trajectories and projects, with a focus on understanding how they relate to geographic and social mobilities. I aim to investigate the meanings that migrants attribute to their experiences and how they shape their migratory projects. Finally, I analyze the migrants' experience in relation to their use of public spaces, places of residence, and connections with neighborhoods of Montevideo. I provide insight into specific forms of urban segregation that are closely linked to housing access. Additionally, I examine specific dimensions of the deprivation of liberty and its effects on the family and affective environment of migrants living in Montevideo.