The challenges in the relationship between state and nation. The Mexican case

Economic globalization and communication have triggered new external and internal logic in Nation States the impact of which has been differentiated across countries. In the case of Mexico, migration, indigenous group movements and organize d crime are challenging the conventional relations between State and Nation. This article analyzes the way Mexico-United States migration and the demands of indigenous peoples challenge the structures of State and National identity. It describes how the war waged by the current government against organized crime is shattering state institutions. Nation, State and democracy, are facing the challenge of a spatial, symbolic and institutional reconfiguration.