Politics

Mexico’s Diplomatic Asylum Policy

Roberta Lajous * E V A / a v a N

o i v a t c O

Mexico’s Foreign Relations Ministry.

INTRODUCTION country’s practice of diplomatic asylum: Chilean and Uru guayan socialists, Pe - Gilberto Bosques, Luis I. Rodríguez, Vi - ronists and anti-Somozan and Salva - Mexico was already a stronghold of diplo - cente Muñiz Arroyo and Gonzalo Mar - doran Fara bundo Martí activists. The matic and territorial asylum in the nine - tínez Corbalá. The list of individuals long list of names includes José Martí, teenth century, but even more clearly and national groups who have benefit - Rómulo Gallegos, César Augusto San - throughout the twentieth century. Mex - ed from generous protection in Mex - dino, Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, ican diplomats take enormous pride in ican diplomatic missions abroad is very Fidel Castro, Alaíde Foppa, Hortensia the great names associated with our long. It includes Spanish Republicans, Bussi de Allende, Leon Trotsky, Luis Austrian and German anti-fascists, Rus - Cardoza y Aragón, José Gaos, Pablo Ne - * Director of the Foreign Relations Minis - try’s Matías Romero Institute of Consular sian revolutionary ideologues, Guate ma - ruda, Nicolás Guillén, Luis Buñuel, Ofe - and Diplomatic Studies. lan nationalists, anti-Duva lierist Haitians, lia Guilmain and Rigoberta Menchú.

7 Voices of Mexico • 54 E V A / a v a N

o i v a t c O In promoting the right to asylum, Mexico has had no object other than to protect the life and liberty of all individuals. Its practice has benefited persons persecuted for their ideas.

Nobel Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú was exiled in Mexico.

MEXICO AND DIPLOMATIC ASYLUM in Havana at the Sixth Inter-Amer ican ment. 5 According to Sepúlveda, the Ca - Conference, which established that the racas Convention “has the advantage By asylum, we understand “the protec - right to asylum of so-called “political de - over its predecessors in the sense of not tion that a state accords an individual linquents” would be respected as long as making asylum depend on customs or who seeks refuge in its territory or in a the laws, conventions or common usages local laws, but legal, contractual con - place outside that territory.” 1 In contrast of the country of refuge permitted it as siderations. The state that ratifies it has to territorial asylum, which is granted a right or for humanitarian reasons. This the duty to admit the practice of diplo - by a state within its own territory as its instrument, while novel, had certain de - matic asylum.” 6 sovereign right, diplomatic asylum is ficiencies since, as jurist César Sepúl - In promoting the right to asylum, that granted in a state’s diplomatic mis - veda said, “in addition to being very Mexico has had no object other than to sion to which an individual comes re - brief, it was also very obscure.” 3 Later, protect the life and liberty of all indi - questing protection. People who fear in 1933, Mexico actively promoted the viduals. Its practice has benefited per - for their lives for political or ideological Conven tion on Political Asylum at the sons persecuted for their ideas or for reasons go to a diplomatic legation seek - Seventh Inter-American Conference in committing actions which, although ing protection when they find them - Mon tevideo. This convention introduced they may qualify as political crimes, do selves amidst political instability or vio - a new element that would be a signifi - not contradict the ethics shared by the lence, as happens during coups d’etat, cant legal step forward: the state which world’s nations. insurrections, serious disruptions and granted asylum would decide what The Foreign Relations Ministry is revolts. According to experts in inter - “political delinquency” was. According not only the institution directly respon - national law, “the inviolability of the to Sepúlveda, this convention sought sible for granting diplomatic asylum re - mission’s residence is the basis for the “to discipline the practice of diplomatic quested of the Mexican government, doctrine of diplomatic asylum.” 2 The asylum, not create a body of law for in - but also the first to be interested in dis - Conventions of Havana (1928), Mon te - dividuals.” 4 At the Tenth Inter-Amer ican seminating the principles and legal rea - video (1933) and Caracas (1954) estab - Conference in 1954 in Caracas, Mex - sons that have led Mexico to play a lish the inter-American framework for ico made important contributions to vitally important role in the protection both diplomatic and territorial asylum. the Convention on Diplomatic Asylum. of a considerable number of people per - Mexico was the first country to ratify In fact, Mexico’s contributions were the secuted for political reasons. (And I use the First Convention on Asylum, signed basis for the negotiation of that instru - the word “vitally” in the sense of its Latin

8 Politics a l o s a s a C

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Mexico’s support o F for the Spanish Republic during the Civil War is a memorable episode in the history of our foreign policy.

Refugees from Franco’s .

root, vitalis , meaning “of life.”) For Mex - and its missions in France to grant asy - DIPLOMATIC ASYLUM ico, “the criteria for granting asylum lum to every Spanish Republican who FOR GUATEMALANS have been based on international human requested it. rights, on common law in the Americas When Germany attacked France, A little known part of our history is the and on our solid political institutions, Pre sident Lázaro Cárdenas gave in - asylum Mexico gave to hundreds of which have won for our country inter - s tructions to his representative, Luis I. Guatemalans fleeing from the political nationally recognized prestige in this Rodrí guez, who headed up the Mex ican upheaval that plagued their country be - area.” 7 legation there, to inform the French tween 1944 and 1954. government that Mexico was willing to In 1944, the popular revolts that accept all refugees residing in France. overthrew the dictator Jorge Ubico, in DIPLOMATIC ASYLUM On August 22, 1940, the Franco- power since 1931, and the government AND THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR Mex ican agreement on Spanish re fu - take-over by his former ally Federico gees was formalized between Mexico Ponce increased the number of people The practice of granting asylum is an and the Vichy government under Mar - seeking asylum. This happened again outstanding characteristic of our for - shall Pétain. This agreement benefited when Ponce’s government fell and was eign policy. Mexico’s support for the not only the Spanish Republicans, but re placed by Juan José Arévalo: both Spanish Republic during the Civil War members of the International Brigades leaders were later granted asylum in is a memorable episode in the history of and anti-fascist and anti-Nazi fighters. Mexico. our foreign policy. Mexico’s consulate in Vichy also gave The Mexican government, true to The defense of the Republic by Nar - protection and asylum to dozens of Ita l - its tradition, gave asylum to the mem - ciso Bassols and Isidro Fabela before ians, Austrians, Poles and Jews to whom bers of opposing factions, regardless the and our material it gave documents so they could leave of ideology or political tendency. As aid to the Repu blican struggle were only France. Foreign Minister Ezequiel Padilla said the beginning of the support, which This support ended on November about the Guatemalan situation: culminated with the arrival of more than 14, 1942, when the Mexican legation 40,000 Spanish refugees to Mexico. was attacked by Nazi troops and the Our government’s policy on this matter Between 1936 and 1942, Mexico Mexican diplomats taken prisoner and [asylum] is inspired exclusively in broad opened the doors of its embassy in Spain sent to Bad Godesber. humanitarian considerations....The idea

9 Voices of Mexico • 54

is to make certain that men who have tutional life in the Southern Cone of the tember 11, 1973 coup. The presence not really committed a crime and whose Americas. Once again, Mexico imple - of such a large number of people and lives may be of use to their homelands mented its policy of asylum and be came the long, drawn-out process of getting do not fall victim to the passions and cir - a refuge, the land of temporary or defin - safe-conduct passes for them created cumstances of the moment. 8 itive exile for thousands. In this period enormous pressures in terms of daily also, our embassies played an outstand - living. 13 This experience has been elo - In 1951, Colonel Jacobo Arbenz’s ing role in protecting those who placed quently narrated in detail in the mem - victory at the polls made things worse their trust in Mexico. oirs written by our ambassador in Chi - instead of better. A large sector of There were coups d’etat, military re - le, Gonzalo Martínez Corbalá. 14 Guatemalan society became radical - pression and social polarization in Martínez Corbalá himself says, “The ized and took a strong anti-communist and in 1973 and in decision of the Mexican embassy to position, which made for new instances in 1976. As a result, many leaders and grant asylum to any Chileans and Latin of re pression, deportations and requests activists of left social and political orga - Americans who came to its doors was for asylum. nizations, journalists and public officials based on the precepts contained in the In 1954, a military coup put an end to were forced into clandestinity or to leave Convention [of Caracas of 1954].” 15 Arbenz’s reform government and pro mpt- their countries to save their lives. One He would later add that Mexican diplo - ed another wave of exiles, among them of the ways of trying to leave their mats’ actions were also based on the the deposed president himself. About countries was to request asylum in the fact that “we could not ignore the main this question, the Mex ican Foreign Mi n - Mexican legations in Santiago, Mon te- value that must rule the relations among istry’s report for 1954 states: video and Buenos Aires. 10 individuals, which is the preservation of While scholars agree that there were the lives of one’s fellows. Nei ther could From September 3 on, a total of 318 particularities for each nation, “Mex ico’s we put to one side Mexico’s historic tra - persons who had sought asylum in Mex - policy on asylum in the three nations dition of making our territory the sanc - ico’s embassy in Guatemala began arriv - was very similar: absolute respect for tuary for all those seeking freedom and ing in Mexico....On Septem ber 9, Co l - constitutional mandates, for foreign po - dignity.” 16 onel Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán, former licy guidelines and for inter-American In the period after the coup, when the president of Guatemala, arrived after norms on asylum.” 11 situation was the most complex, Mar tí - taking refuge in our embassy. He was In the case of Argentina, the num - nez Cor balá’s opinion was that relations accompanied by family members and ber of exiles was relatively low (about should not be severed “until the enor - high government officials. 9 65), with long stays in the legation in mous problem of having almost 500 some cases, such as former president exiles under our protection and diplo - In the years after Arbenz’s over - Héctor Cámpora, Héctor Pe dro Cám - matic responsibility was solved.” 17 After throw and until the end of 1996 when pora and Juan Manuel Abal Medina. A relations between the two countries peace was signed between the Guate - sign of the political instability prior deteriorated and once pending problems malan government and guerrilla move - to the coup d’etat, some of the exiles of asylum had been solved, the Mexican ment, Mexico was the most important arrived at the legation long before the government severed diplomatic relations destination for thousands of Guate ma - actual military take-over on March 24, with Chile on Novem ber 26, 1974. lan refugees and exiles who made our 1976. 12 The two countries maintained Finally, in the Uruguayan case, more country their home. diplomatic relations despi te the tensions than 400 people requested diplomatic generated by the slowness in the issue asylum at the Mexican legation over a of safe-conduct passes for the Cám - period of several years, with the num - THE DIPLOMATIC EXILES poras and Abal Medina. bers increasing as military repression FROM THE SOUTHERN CONE In the Chilean case, more than 800 rose after the June 27, 1973 coup. In exiles sought sanctuary in Mexico’s many cases, the Uruguayan government In the 1960s and 1970s, different po li - em bassy, most of whom were admitted facilitated their departure without rec - tical events caused the collapse of insti - in the days immediately after the Sep - ognizing their status as exiles, giving them

10 Politics

special documents in lieu of safe-con - cuted for their political beliefs and vali - 8 AHDREM , Exp. II-708-1-(I), “Declaraciones 18 del canciller mexicano a la prensa sobre dere - duct passes. In this case, diplomatic dated a practice closely associated with cho de asilo” (Mexico City), 27 June 1944. relations between the two countries Mexico’s foreign policy. 9 “Memoria de la Secretaría de Relaciones Exte - remained discreet. riores de enero a diciembre de 1954” (report to the Federal Congress by Foreign Minister NOTES Luis Padilla Nervo, printed by Talleres Grá - ficos de la Nación, 1955), p. 20. CONCLUSIONS 1 Cecilia Imaz, “El asilo diplomático en la política 10 Silvia Dutrénit Bielous and Guadalupe Ro - exterior de México,” Revista Mexicana de Po- dríguez de Ita go into this experience in great The occasions on which the Mexican lítica Exterior 40-41 (autumn-winter 1993), p. 54. detail in their book. Op. cit. government has protected those perse - 2 Max Sorensen, Manual de derecho interna - 11 Guadalupe Rodríguez de Ita, “Experiencias cuted for political reasons by giving them cional público (Mexico City: Fondo de Cultura de asilo registradas en las embajadas mexi - Económica, 1978), p. 399. canas,” Dutrén it Bielous and Rodríguez de diplomatic asylum undoubtedly consti - Ita, ibid., p. 134. 3 César Sepúlveda, Derecho internacional (Me x- tute some of the most brilliant chapters ico City: Porrúa, 1977), p. 155. 12 Ibid., pp. 135-137. in the history of Mexico’s diplomacy and 4 Ibid., p. 155. 13 Ibid., pp. 138-144. foreign policy. Taken as a whole, the 5 Luis Miguel Díaz and Guadalupe Rodríguez 14 expe riences of the Spaniards, the Guate - Gonzalo Martínez Corbalá, Instantes de de Ita, “Bases histórico-jurídicas de la política decisión, Chile 1972-1973 (Mexico City: malans, the Chileans, Uru gua yans and mexicana de asilo diplomático,” Silvia Dutrénit Grijalbo, 1998). Bielous and Guadalupe Rodríguez de Ita, Argen tineans, as well as different indi - Asilo diplomático mexicano en el Cono Sur 15 Ibid., p. 202. viduals, show the continuity in the prac - (Mexico City: Instituto Mora/Acervo Histó - 16 Ibid., p. 207. tice of diplomatic asylum throughout rico Diplo mático, 1999), p. 75. 17 the history of Mexican diplomacy. This 6 Sepúlveda, op. cit., p. 156. Ibid., p. 213. has both saved the lives of people perse - 7 Imaz, op. cit., p. 63. 18 Rodríguez de Ita, op. cit., pp. 144-149.

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