Works and celebrations in the integration of the Chinese in Chiapas. From historical proceeding to current ethnic definition

Abstract

The long history of Chinese immigrants in Mexico has been observed,
from historiography, linked to the national state building in the postrevolution
period. The campaigns against their presence on Mexican soil,
and their xenophobic character contrast with other processes in some
parts of the Republic as in the case of Chiapas, where the Chinese were
gradually incorporated to the host society. Some organizations helped
in this integration. However, the current debates on the nature of the
Chinese ethnic group in Mexico distort, rather than help, to understand
what happened. For this reason, the article seeks to present evidence
about that historical process. At the same time it discusses the ethnic
definitions people apply in the present.