Migrants trek north through Mexico, buoyed by US election result

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TAPACHULA, Mexico, Nov 11 - More than a thousand migrants were walking northward on Wednesday in a caravan through southern Mexico, spurred by last week's Democratic victory in US…

TAPACHULA, Mexico, Nov 11 - More than a thousand migrants were walking northward on Wednesday in a caravan through southern Mexico, spurred by last week's Democratic victory in US midterm elections, which raised hopes that US immigration policies could become more welcoming.

The group, estimated by a Chiapas state government source to number about 1,500 people including many families, set off on Tuesday from the city of Tapachula near the Guatemala border. With possessions in backpacks, parents carried small children in their arms, in strollers or on their shoulders.

Tapachula has long been a key transit point for migrants from Central America heading to the United States.

Due to US entry restrictions and deportations, thousands have become stranded there, where they report a scarcity of jobs, healthcare and schools. Such caravans are common, but many migrants saw new reason for optimism after last week's US elections.

Democrats won control of the US Congress as voters delivered a sharp rebuke to President Donald Trump and his agenda, which includes immigration policies that have increased raids and arrests across parts of the country.

The migrants, mostly from Central America, hope the political shift could open pathways for them to live and work in the United States.

"There might be a light at the end of the tunnel, a way for us to get in," said caravan participant Cesar Sandoval, a 47-year-old Nicaraguan citizen who was deported from the United States a few months ago.

"We believe the Democrats will help us... with God’s help," he added before the group, dubbed "God With Us," departed.

The migrants initially aim to reach Mexico City, more than 1,000 km (621 miles) away, to seek assistance from the Mexican federal government and protection from being detained while traveling toward the US border.

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