@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Arts, Faculty of"@en, "Geography, Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Vives Gonzalez, Celia"@en ; dcterms:issued "2011-03-07T20:44:41Z"@en, "2007"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Arts - MA"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description "Since 1985, the phenomenon of immigration in Spain has emerged as a social concern, a keystone in national politics, and a topic in need of further research. This thesis aims to build on the existing work by exploring how two processes, the growth and increasing diversity of the immigrant population in Spain and the Europeanization of the country's immigration law, have impacted the legal integration of the Latin American immigrant community since the mid 1980s. Focusing on the case of Argentinean immigrants, I use a variety of methods to discuss the profile and evolution of this community in the context of the broader general and Latin American immigrations in Spain. This includes an analysis of the changes in immigration and citizenship legislation since 1985, paying special attention to those that have impacted Argentinean immigrants; an exploration of the representation of Argentineans in popular discourse; and a discussion of the ways in which these immigrants see themselves as insiders / outsiders within the Spanish nation-state. I conclude that there are two conflicting interpretations of Argentinean immigration in Spain. The first and most prevalent is the representation of the Argentinean immigrant as a returnee. This representation emerges strongly in popular discourse, immigrants' claims of belonging to the nation-state, and citizenship legislation; it is a legacy of both Spanish colonialism and emigration of Spaniards to Argentina in the past. The second is the representation of the Argentinean as an economic immigrant, which emerged in the 2000 immigration law. Argentineans are trapped in the contradictions and tensions between these two representations, but far from being passive recipients of the definitions and categories that the state imposes on them, there is evidence that they organize, accept, resist, or manipulate public discourses in their search to find a place for themselves in Spanish society. This thesis supports the status of public policy on immigration and citizenship as a boundary-marker for the national community, and calls for a greater attention to non-governmental actors in the institutionalization of immigration as an object of such public policy."@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/32134?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "A R G E N T I N E A N S IN S P A I N : I M M I G R A N T S O R R E T U R N E E S ? I N S T I T U T I O N A L V E R S U S P O P U L A R I N T E R P R E T A T I O N S by C E L I A V I V E S G O N Z A L E Z B .A . Universidad Complutense de Madr id, 2004 A THESIS S U B M I T T E D IN P A R T I A L F U L F I L L M E N T O F T H E R E Q U I R E M E N T S F O R T H E D E G R E E O F M A S T E R OF A R T S in T H E F A C U L T Y OF G R A D U A T E S T U D I E S (Geography) T H E U N I V E R S I T Y OF BRIT ISH C O L U M B I A August 2007 © Cel ia Vives Gonzalez, 2007. ABSTRACT Since 1985, the phenomenon o f immigra t ion i n Spa in has emerged as a socia l concern, a keystone i n national .politics, and a topic i n need o f further research. T h i s thesis aims to b u i l d on the exis t ing work b y exp lo r ing h o w two processes, the growth and increasing divers i ty o f the immigrant populat ion i n Spa in and the Europeaniza t ion o f the country 's immigra t ion law, have impacted the legal integration o f the L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigran t c o m m u n i t y since the m i d 1980s. F o c u s i n g on the case o f Argent inean immigrants , I use a variety o f methods to discuss the profi le and evolu t ion o f this communi ty i n the context o f the broader general and L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigra t ions i n Spain. T h i s includes an analysis o f the changes i n immigra t ion and c i t izenship legis lat ion since 1985, p a y i n g special attention to those that have impacted Argent inean immigrants; an explorat ion o f the representation o f Argent ineans i n popular discourse; and a d iscuss ion o f the ways i n w h i c h these immigrants see themselves as insiders / outsiders w i t h i n the Spanish nation-state. I conclude that there are two conf l ic t ing interpretations o f Argent inean immigra t ion i n Spain . The first and most prevalent is the representation o f the Argent inean immigrant as a returnee. Th i s representation emerges strongly i n popular discourse, immigrants ' c la ims o f be longing to the nation-state, and ci t izenship legis la t ion; it is a legacy o f both Spanish co lon ia l i sm and emigrat ion o f Spaniards to A r g e n t i n a i n the past. The second is the representation o f the Argent inean as an economic immigrant , w h i c h emerged i n the 2000 immigra t ion law. Argent ineans are trapped i n the contradictions and tensions between these two representations, but far f rom being passive recipients o f the definit ions and categories that the state imposes on them, there is evidence that they organize, accept, resist, or manipulate pub l i c discourses i n their search to f ind a place for themselves i n Spanish society. T h i s thesis supports the status o f pub l i c p o l i c y on immigra t ion and ci t izenship as a boundary-marker for the national communi ty , and calls for a greater attention to non-governmental actors in the inst i tut ional izat ion o f immigra t i on as an object o f such pub l i c p o l i c y . TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract : i i Table o f Contents i i i L i s t o f Tables v i L i s t o f figures v i i L i s t o f M a p s , v i i i A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s i x Ded ica t ion x i INTRODUCTION ~ Imagination, the Hispanic Community, and Latin American Immigration to Spain 1 C H A P T E R I ~ Situating Spain in the Literature on Immigration and Citizenship 7 The Place o f the Immigrant Other i n the \"Na t iona l Order o f Th ings\" : debates at the international and Spanish levels 9 O n Spa in ' s outsiders: foreigners and immigrants 11 Po l i t i c i za t ion , Securi t izat ion, and neo-ass imi la t ionism i n Spanish pol i t ics 13 Po l i t i c i za t ion 13 Secur i t iza t ion 14 Neo-as s imi l a t ion i sm 16 International Debates on C i t i zensh ip appl ied to the Spanish context ...17 Ci t i zensh ip , nat ionhood, and the demise o f the nation-state 18 T h e l imi t s o f Citizenship i n contemporary Spain 21 C o n c l u d i n g remarks 23 C H A P T E R II ~ O n the f ie ld : approaches, strategies, surprises \\ .25 C H A P T E R III ~ W h e n the numbers soar: Argent inean immigra t ion i n context. 36 Fore ign popula t ion in Spain : evolut ion and prof i le 36 A diff icul t count: strengths and l imita t ions o f statistical databases for the study o f immigra t ion i n Spa in 37 A w o r l d i n twenty years: Spa in ' s qu ick transit ion to a country o f immigra t ion and the growth o f the La t ino popula t ion 39 Coun t ing the \" i n v i s i b l e \" people: .undocumented, natural ized, and second-generation immigrants 47 H i s t o r y i n a nutshell : populat ion exchanges between Argen t ina and Spa in 50 c \" M a k i n g the A m e r i c a s \" : Spanish overseas mass migrat ions 50 L e a v i n g i n a hurry: the arr ival o f po l i t i ca l refugees i n the 1970s 52 Hyper in f la t ion and the \"corra l i to\" : economic migrat ions i n the 1990s and the 2000s 54 Argent inean immigra t ion today: prof i le and dis t r ibut ion 57 C o n c l u d i n g remarks . . . .60 C H A P T E R I V ~ B r i n g i n g order to chaos? Immigra t ion and c i t izenship laws, 1985-2007 63 L e g a l framework: immigra t ion l aw 64 L e g a l framework: nat ionali ty legis la t ion 70 \" A mu l t i l eve l system o f migra t ion management\": the role o f the Comunidades Autonomas 73 C o n c l u d i n g remarks: a hierarchy o f otherness (I) 77 i v C H A P T E R V ~ Argent inean immigra t ion i n the popular discourse 79 O n boats, indianos, and stories around a coffee table 80 Argent ineans i n the media , or h o w the \" indianos\" became \"pibes\" 82 P o l i t i c a l discourse . 87 C o n c l u d i n g remarks: a hierarchy o f otherness (II) 91 C H A P T E R V I ~ Argent ineans o n the record: experiences o f immigra t ion and c i t izenship 93 Emigra t ing , immigra t ing , integrating: the use o f socia l and f ami ly networks 95 The r i s ing role o f networks i n the integration process 98 Intersections: work , gender, and legal status 101 Excuse me, but I ' m not b lack : Argent ineans ' c la ims for be long ing to the Spanish nat ion , . 104 T h e meanings o f (legal) c i t izenship 109 The emotional burden o f c i t izenship 110 Pragmatic c i t izenship I l l C i t i zensh ip as a right 114 C o n c l u d i n g remarks: asserting Argent ineans ' place i n the hierarchy o f otherness 118 CONCLUSIONS 121 R E F E R E N C E S . : 129 A P P E N D I X I Cert if icate o f A p p r o v a l f rom the E th i ca l R e v i e w B o a r d 139 A P P E N D I X I Pe rmiss ion to use copyrighted material 140 v LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Characterist ics o f the immigrant sample 30 Table 3.1: E v o l u t i o n o f legal foreign populat ion in relat ion to the Spanish popu la t ion . . . 3 9 Table 3.2: E v o l u t i o n o f the top ten nationalities i n 2005 (1997-2005) 41 Tab le 3.3: Fo re ign legal populat ion b y continent o f or ig in , b y year (1992, 1997, 2001 , 2005) 42 Tab le 3.4: Argent inean immigrants b y legal status (1985-2005) 56 Table 4.1: Types o f residence permit, e l ig ible groups, and duration 67 Tab le 4.2: En t ry requirements for entry and stay for ci t izens o f different w o r l d regions 68 Table 4.3: A c c e s s to ci t izenship according to m a i n pr inc ip le o f appl icat ion, w i t h specifications for Argent inean ci t izens 71 v i LIST OF GRAPHS Graph 3.1: Demograph ic indicators: births, deaths, natural growth, and immigra t ion i n Spa in , 1991-2005 40 Graph 3.2: Natura l iza t ions o f foreigners i n Spain , 1960-2004 , 48 G r a p h 3.3: E v o l u t i o n o f Spanish emigrat ion to A m e r i c a and Europe (1885-2001) 51 v i i LIST OF MAPS: M a p 3.1: Dis t r ibu t ion o f the total foreign-born popula t ion i n Spain , 1996 (quintiles).. . . 46 M a p 3.2: Dis t r ibu t ion o f the total foreign-born populat ion i n Spain , 2006 (quintiles) 46 M a p 3.3: Dis t r ibu t ion o f the total Argent inean-born popula t ion i n Spain , 1996 (quintiles) 59 M a p 3.4: Di s t r ibu t ion o f the total Argent inean-born populat ion i n Spain , 2006 (quintiles) 59 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The number o f people whose help has made this thesis possible is m u c h longer than I can acknowledge here - son todos los que estdn, pero no estdn todos los que son. I must start b y thanking m y fami ly for their un f l inch ing support a l l throughout this project. M y parents, m y m a i n coaches, have raised me the best they k n e w and • supported m y choices even i n disagreement (sometimes I s t i l l wonder i f I should have been a doctor!). T h e good that I have is because o f you , and any faults are m y o w n . M y li t t le sister Isa has always pu l l ed m y feet back d o w n to the ground - something that I appreciate, because I have certain tendency to hover over reality. T h e b l i n d faith that m y grandparents have i n me has kept m e go ing i n r o c k y times, when it felt that the ra in w o u l d never stop d r u m m i n g o n the r o o f and the reasons to keep w r i t i n g were not at a l l clear; m y biggest sorrow is that this thesis comes too late for m y grandfather to k n o w about it. In a sense, this research has been something o f a f ami ly project, as everyone happ i ly ro l led up their sleeves to g ive me a hand w i t h it whenever I needed it. F o r a l l that and m u c h more, for your support and your patience, thanks. I miss y o u every split second. M a n y other people have also he ld m y hand to guide me through this adventure o f w r i t i n g an M A thesis. I am i n great debt w i t h m y two supervisors i n the Department o f Geography at the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a , Professors D a v i d L e y and D a n Hiebert , for their constant support and expert input. I have lost count o f the times that y o u have gone out o f your w a y to make m y l i fe easier and m y research better. I also want to thank Professor Mer je K u u s , the third member o f m y committee, for her advice and patience. I look forward to keep learning f rom a l l o f y o u i n the next stage o f m y academic career. Other colleagues and friends i n V a n c o u v e r have helped me f in i sh this thesis. I especial ly want to thank K a t h y Sherre l l , H a i d a A n t o l i c k , M o n i c a M o o r e , and A l e x A y l e t t for their help proofreading and edi t ing different chapters o f the thesis. Y o u r friendship makes this c i ty a m u c h better place! M y endless gratitude goes to m y partner i n many i x crimes, A l e x Ay le t t , whose help was instrumental from the in i t ia l p lo t t ing to the final submiss ion. Y o u r merciless pen has dr iven me nuts and improved the qual i ty o f m y w o r k i n equal amounts, and I hope to have m u c h t ime to return the favour. The maps, on the other hand, are a result o f Jose A p a r i c i o ' s s k i l l and generosity: thanks. I also want to thank the people that have helped me from Spain , often w i t h no more introduct ion than a lone ly emai l . I owe much to Sandra G i l Arau jo , w h o I never manage to place on the map but w h o always replies to m y emails i n t ime and w i t h the right advice. The longest in terview turned out to be the best one. A l s o k e y have been Margar i t a del O l m o , B e l e n A g r e l a R o m e r o , and Fernando Esteban, a l l o f w h o m have very generously shared their w o r k and efforts w i t h me. Mar tha de P u y o l and L a u r a T o b i a , f rom the associat ion Nietos Esperando, helped m e understand the impl ica t ions o f the legis lat ive changes for the Argent inean communi ty i n Spain . I am very impressed w i t h their l eve l o f commitment and their achievements putt ing together an engaged group o f people to defend Argent inean immigrants ' interest i n Spanish pol i t ics ; I w i s h y o u the best o f luck . Other anonymous correspondents from the Co lec t i vo I O E , the Instituto N a c i o n a l de Estadist ica, and the Secretaria de Estado de Inmigrac ion y E m i g r a t i o n have also been o f great help for this project. Thanks to a l l o f y o u for your support and encouragement. T h i s thesis has been possible thanks to the people mentioned above and m a n y more who w i l l remain anonymous. In this group are the 32 interviewees w h o wanted to share their experiences, knowledge , and frustrations w i t h me. I treasure each w o r d , dance, and song that y o u put on m y hands. M a y the journey b r ing what y o u l o n g for . . . x Dedicated to my loving and much loved grandparents: To my grandfather Jose Maria, Born in the mountains Always walking, searching. (In Memoriam) And to my grandmother Adela, Child of the sea, tireless knitter, For her endless care and ready smile. x i INTRODUCTION ~ IMAGINATION, THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY, AND LATIN AMERICAN IMMIGRATION TO SPAIN. \"There is no use trying\", said Alice; \"one can't believe impossible things\". \"I dare say you haven't had much practice \", said the Queen. \" When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast\" ( L e w i s Car ro l l , Alice in Wonderland). T h i s thesis is on immigra t ion i n Spa in - and on h o w two processes, Spa in ' s entry into the European U n i o n and the country 's transit ion from a country o f emigrat ion to a country o f immigra t ion , have impacted the L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrant communi ty since. 1985. T h e focus o f m y research is on Argent inean immigrants . In a sense this research is about the shift ing o f national borders and the struggles o f a specific immigrant group to get their foot i n the c los ing door o f the Spanish nation-state, a territory and a commun i ty that Argent ineans do not experience as foreign. B u t before I start, I w o u l d l i ke to talk about the relationship between A l i c e and the H i s p a n i c C o m m u n i t y . Alice in Wonderland is a very inf luent ial book i n the pages that fo l l ow. S ince I first turned on the digi ta l recorder to talk w i t h m y first interviewee last September I have found A l i c e ' s adventures a fruitful s imi le o f the experiences o f Argent inean immigrants i n Spain . The book fel l (once again) into m y hands last year, and as I re-read it, the story framed m y research and gave it a new dimens ion : Alice pushed m e to look around w i t h eyes that took nothing for granted - neither people nor nations, borders nor governments. T h e image o f that l i t t le g i r l i n a baby blue dress t ry ing to squeeze through a door that was obv ious ly too smal l , shr ink ing and expanding w i t h the a i m to get to the other side, haunted m e as I l istened to Argent ineans ' pa ins taking efforts to secure a place o f their o w n w i t h i n Spanish society. The i r adventures d id not seem m u c h more bizarre than A l i c e ' s , and the land where they had f ina l ly arr ived had a shade o f the surreal ism that tainted Wonder l and , where a queen ran around y e l l i n g \" O f f w i t h his head!! O f f w i t h her head!!\" whenever something d i d not please her. (In Spa in w e have our o w n immigra t ion agencies that change laws from one day to the next and a l l ow for a rather arbitrary appl ica t ion o f the legislat ion.) 1 True, Alice in Wonderland is neither about immigrants nor about Spain . B u t both the nove l and this thesis share a c o m m o n preoccupat ion w i t h imaginat ion, and more speci f ica l ly , w i t h h o w we can be l ieve imposs ib le things and make them happen. F o r me, the international order o f nations is one such instance o f imposs ible things that we have created and learnt to take for granted through the da i ly exercise o f our imaginat ion and practice. In academic terms, m y argument is that nation-states are social constructions that need to be c r i t i ca l ly revisi ted on a regular basis, to make sure that they st i l l do more good than harm. Some o f the scholars that have influenced m y work go m u c h farther and argue that w e must overcome nation-states a l l together. F o r example, Nand i t a Sharma, professor at the Un ive r s i t y o f H a w a i i and activist o f the N o Border movement, bel ieves that w e must learn to think and imagine beyond the nation-state - i n her terms, we all must stop th ink ing l i k e a state.1 F o r that, w e must overcome seven basic assumptions that pervade our v i s i o n o f the w o r l d . These assumptions are, first, the conflat ion between communi ty and the nation, or the grouping o f people i n discrete nations; second, the conflat ion o f the nat ion and the state; third, the assumption that societies are self-contained national units, or that nations are in ternal ly homogenous and different f rom a l l other nations; fourth, that states are a l l - k n o w i n g and al l -powerful entities that can control reali ty through the l aw; fifth, that borders are g iven , and not an ideologica l construct on the part o f the state; s ixth , that people can be categorized according to their relat ion to the nation-state (i.e., ci t izens versus non-ci t izens, documented versus undocumented immigrants , etc.) and that it is acceptable to govern each group o f people w i t h a different system o f legis la t ion; and seventh, that foreigners are a threat, or that immigra t ion must be securi t ized. O n l y i f w e overcome these assumptions w i l l we be able to use our imagina t ion to dream o f possible ways to come together, instead o f f inding more ways to d iv ide each o f us f rom one another (Sharma, 2007). H o w e v e r , our imagina t ion keeps stopping at the national border, especial ly w h e n w e talk about people o n the move . It is i n national borders where emigrat ion and immigra t ion are constructed as a condi t ion , a symptom o f incompleteness; borders are the places where people d i g up their roots and stick them into their pockets hop ing to find 1 In this context, Sharma explicitly draws from James Scott's work (Scott, 1998). 2 new fertile land to keep growing , or l o o k i n g forward to their return. \"The pathologizat ion o f uprootedness\" ( M a l k k i , 1992) starts at the border. Na t iona l borders, both imposed by the state and inter ior ized by the i nd iv idua l , are presented to us as permanent and immutable through at least most o f the nation-state's history. Indiv idual attachments to such boundaries should not be underestimated, as personal identifications w i t h these borders that d iv ide territories, governments, and people are one o f the m a i n condit ions for nation-states to exist. Bu t one o f the things that 1 w i s h to prove here is that national boundaries are neither permanent nor immutable : go ing through just the last twenty years o f Spanish his tory shows h o w the borders o f the ( symbol ic ) nat ion can shift i f they are found to be an obstacle to \"greater\" interests, such as international pol i t ics or economic interests. Immigra t ion and ci t izenship legislat ions are a p r iv i l eged site to study this mal leab i l i ty o f the border, as they serve as boundary-markers for the national communi ty (Brubaker, 1992; F a v e l l , 2001). T h r o u g h the careful analysis o f the evolut ion o f immigra t ion and ci t izenship legis la t ion since the m i d 1980s, we can start to understand h o w Spanish nat ionhood has shifted its terms o f reference, f rom the L a t i n A m e r i c a n w o r l d to Europe; and h o w , as this happens, Argent ineans are stripped o f the pr ivi leges they have enjoyed so far as members o f the H i s p a n i c commun i ty and their place in Spa in becomes more precarious. T h e relationship between Spain and its former colonies (a \" f a m i l y \" o f nations k n o w n as the \" H i s p a n i c C o m m u n i t y \" ) is a l ong and compl ica ted one that w o u l d deserve a who le thesis. 2 F o r the purpos'es o f this one, what matters is that Spa in has, i n one w a y or another, had a close relationship w i t h its colonies even after the demise o f the Spanish empire i n the late 1 9 t h century. F o r some t ime after the end o f Spanish c o l o n i a l i s m this relat ionship was maintained mos t ly through the intense migra tory f lows f rom Spa in to L a t i n A m e r i c a , and especial ly to Argent ina . M o s t o f these Spanish emigrants f led pover ty and starvation, and later war, and dreamed o f tak ing part i n the prosperi ty o f the new w o r l d that w o u l d help them improve their l ives (not i n v a i n Argen t ina means \" l and o f s i lver\") . T h e relationship between Spain and its former colonies i n L a t i n A m e r i c a became more inst i tut ional ized dur ing the times o f F ranco ' s regime, as the dictatorship was shunned i n the Western Hemisphere and the government l ooked for allegiances 2 For a more complete discussion on this issue, see for example Rojas M i x (1992, 2003). 3 w i t h i n the Spanish-speaking w o r l d , w h i c h gave b i r th to the concept o f H i span i c C o m m u n i t y . In 1948, a pro-dictatorship intellectual argued that despite the ambigui ty o f the term, \"Hispanidad is a reali ty o f first magnitude that emerges from the depths o f Hi s to ry and that searches today, in the midst o f many trials, hesitations, anguish, and disorientation, its po l i t i ca l , soc ia l , and economic def in i t ion\" (Barnada, 1948, 6; author's translation). In the eyes o f this intellectual and the regime that he was wr i t ing for, the H i span i c nations were organs o f a same Chr is t ian body, Hispani ty , whose governments were bound to the task o f \"conquer ing the w o r l d for G o d \" . O f course, many things have changed since F ranco ' s death i n 1975. The democratic transit ion that fo l lowed had a marked commitment to break w i t h the past, and i n 1985 Spain entered the European U n i o n ( E U ) as a ful l member. Part o f this moderniza t ion project, o f w h i c h the E U is a core element (Laffan, 1996; Santamaria, 2002) is the trend to remove Spa in f rom the H i s p a n i c C o m m u n i t y and its T h i r d W o r l d aura. Some intellectuals argue that the burn ing o f bridges w i t h the L a t i n A m e r i c a n nation-states is i n fact a c ruc ia l element o f the Europeaniza t ion o f Spa in (see for example G a r c i a M a r q u e z , 2001). The process o f \" b e c o m i n g European\" after decades ( i f not centuries) o f isola t ion from the rest o f the continent requires a good deal o f imaginat ion and a deep re-defini t ion o f the self. The transformation through w h i c h Spa in becomes part o f Europe i n geographical and symbo l i c terms also involves a r ev i s ion o f the people who are entit led to enter, l ive , and w o r k i n the country without legal restraints. T h i s entitlement is allocated b y the state accord ing to the national or igins o f the indiv iduals : pr ior to 1985, a l l L a t i n Amer i cans were a l lowed to migrate to Spa in without a v i sa , w h i l e nowadays on ly Europeans enjoy this pr iv i lege . B u t have Spaniards rea l ly changed that much? H a v e they changed sk in colour , language, r e l ig ion , or culture? N o t really. W h a t has changed is the w a y Spa in (wants to) imagine itself, as not part o f the T h i r d W o r l d that L a t i n A m e r i c a has become, but o f prosperous Europe. P u b l i c p o l i c y i n the areas o f immigra t ion and ci t izenship, arguably markers o f the borders o f the national communi ty , are a p r iv i l eged area to study this transition. I decided to focus on the case o f the Argent inean immigra t ion because it is the communi ty w i t h the strongest h is tor ica l and ethnic ties w i t h Spain , w h i c h I assumed 4 w o u l d show this shift ing o f the Spanish national borders more strongly. A n d so it does. I found that, i n the case o f the Argentineans more than for any other L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrant group there is a confl ict between two representations related to Spa in ' s transit ion from emigrat ion to immigra t ion , and from the H i span i c C o m m u n i t y to the E U . In the first representation, Argentineans are perceived as insiders to the Spanish nation; i n the other, they are immigrants , strangers. The o r ig in , impl ica t ions , and reactions of, and to, these two conf l i c t ing representations w i l l be explored i n the pages that fo l l ow. T h e thesis is organized i n s ix chapters: i n Chapter I, I discuss the m a i n theories that frame m y research. Far f rom be ing an exhaustive l i s t ing o f the relevant academic works on the fields o f c i t izenship and immigra t ion , this chapter aims at p rov id ing the reader w i t h the basic theoretical f ramework through w h i c h I have studied the integration o f Argent ineans i n Spain . Chapter II b r ie f ly covers the m a i n methods that I have used to carry out this research and their l imitat ions, as w e l l as some o f the ph i losophica l assumptions that just i fy the choice o f f l ex ib i l i ty , ref lexivi ty , and tr iangulation as research strategies. Here I also describe the . characteristics o f the sample and reflect on the interactions that took place dur ing m y f ie ldwork . The empi r ica l part o f the thesis starts i n Chapter III. In this chapter, I use three statistical sources (the Annual Reports on Foreigners/Immigration, the M u n i c i p a l Registr ies , and the Natura l iza t ion Records) to trace the evolu t ion o f immigra t i on i n Spa in , pay ing special attention to the La t i n A m e r i c a n and Argent inean immigrant populat ions. Chapter I V , on the other hand, discusses the changes i n Spanish immigra t i on and c i t izenship legis la t ion since 1985, focusing o n those that d i rect ly impact L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigra t i on to the country. These two chapters, III and I V , support the argument that the construction o f immigra t ion as an object o f pub l i c p o l i c y is c lo se ly . l i n k e d to the Europeaniza t ion o f Spa in since 1985. Once the insti tutional context is l a id out, I turn to the f i e ldwork that I carr ied out i n Spa in between September and December , 2006. Chapter V deals w i t h the popular representations o f Argent inean immigra t ion to Spain . Th rough an analysis o f the stereotypes o f the Argent inean immigrant commun i ty i n the popular imagina t ion and the representation o f this immigra t ion i n the press and i n po l i t i c i ans ' speeches, I explore h o w 5 Argentineans are imagined i n relat ion to the Spanish nation-state. Chapter V I , on the other hand, draws from interviews w i t h Argent inean immigrants and analyzes the ways in w h i c h these immigrants imagine themselves i n relation to Spain and accept, resist, or manipulate the categories that the recent Spanish governments impose on them. In this chapter I also explore the meanings that Spanish ci t izenship had for the interviewees, either as a marker o f the emot ional attachment to Spain , as an instrument towards the ful l integration o f the immigrant , or as a right. W h a t emerges f rom this research is a clear picture o f two contradictory representations o f the Argent inean commun i ty i n Spa in and the mul t ip le tensions that run between them. T h e first representation, found i n the immigra t ion l aw o f 2000, casts Argent ineans as outsiders o f the Spanish nation-state. In this strand o f legis la t ion the \"treatment o f preference\" to w h i c h L a t i n A m e r i c a n nationals were entitled i n the pre-2000 laws disappears, and the Argent inean immigrant becomes equivalent to any other economic migrant f rom the T h i r d W o r l d . T h e second representation is that o f the Argent inean immigrant as a returnee who comes back to his or her motherland, the c h i l d or grandchi ld o f Spanish emigrat ion to Argen t ina . T h i s representation is very strong i n other parts o f the legis la t ion (especial ly that regarding access to ci t izenship) , popular discourses, and also among the Argent inean immigrants that i n t e r v i e w e d dur ing m y f ie ldwork. It is i n the cracks and tensions between these two conf l ic t ing imaginat ions o f the Argent inean commun i ty i n Spa in that I am par t icular ly interested, as they highl ight the precariousness o f national borders and the role o f both ind iv idua l and group agency i n shaping, resist ing, and redefining such borders. i 6 CHAPTER I SITUATING SPAIN IN THE LITERATURE ON IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP If wandering is the liberation from every given point in space, and thus the conceptual opposite to fixation at such a point, the sociological form of the \"stranger\" presents .the unity, as it were, of these two characteristics. This phenomenon, too, however, reveals that spatial relations are only the condition, on the one hand, and the symbol, on the other, of human relations. The stranger is (...) the person who comes today and stays tomorrow. He is, so to speak, the potential wanderer: although he has not moved on, he has not quite overcome the freedom of coming and going. He is fixed within a particular spatial group, or within a group whose boundaries are similar to spatial boundaries. But his position in this group is determined, essentially, by the fact that he has not belonged to it from the beginning, that he imports qualities into it, which do not and cannot stem from the group itself. ( S i m m e l , 1950, 402). In this chapter I w i l l discuss the theoretical perspectives on immigra t ion and ci t izenship that I have found par t icular ly useful for the study o f the legal integration o f Argent inean immigrants i n Spa in since 1985. Far from p rov id ing an exhaustive r ev iew o f the literature i n the f ie ld (a task both imposs ib le and unnecessary), i n the f o l l o w i n g pages I w i l l engage w i t h specif ic theories and concepts that can help understand what immigra t ion and ci t izenship mean for contemporary Spain , w h i c h factors are behind the changes that have occurred i n the legis la t ion i n the last two decades, and what consequences and impl ica t ions these have for Argent inean immigrants i n the country. Immigra t ion has o n l y become an object o f scientif ic inqu i ry i n Spa in i n the last . two decades. T h e evolu t ion o f the research i n this f ie ld has paral le led the increas ing importance o f the foreign popula t ion for the nat ion 's demographics, economy, and pol i t ics . S ince the m i d 1980s, immigra t ion research has gone through a major transformation: the number o f projects i n the area has increased spectacularly, their qual i ty has improved , and more and more disc ipl ines are contr ibut ing to the product ion o f knowledge i n the field. H o w e v e r , as Santamaria noted, research on immig ra t i on i n Spa in is s t i l l characterized b y the \" lack o f theoretical concern\" and most research is \" l i m i t e d to the s imple ascertainment and descript ion o f (...) empir ica l regularities and / or their more or less systematic c lass i f ica t ion\" (2002, 46; author's translation). 7 A l t h o u g h this emp i r i c i sm is rap id ly be ing overcome, the theorization o f immigra t ion and ci t izenship in Spain at this point is s t i l l insufficient for the purposes o f this research. Thus , I have incorporated theories and concepts originated outside Spa in by scholars based i n societies w i t h longer trajectories o f immigra t ion , m a i n l y N o r t h A m e r i c a and the rest o f Europe. T h i s incorporat ion was at t imes problematic: even the meaning o f the basic concept that grounds this thesis (e.g. immigra t ion / inmigracion) changes from Canada to Spain . In this sense, m y task has been to \" p ro v in c i a l i z e \" the international literature on immigra t ion and ci t izenship, and weave it together w i t h avai lable research i n Spain . I bor rowed the inspirat ion to do so from Chakrabar ty ' s book on India Provincializing Europe: postcolonial thought and historical difference. A d a p t i n g his methodologica l proposal to m y research, this methodologica l approach means an acknowledgment o f the relevance o f N o r t h A m e r i c a n and European theories, w h i l e at the same t ime addressing the mul t ip le problems that us ing them i n the Spanish context creates. T h e \"p rov inc i a l i za t i on\" o f the international literature has presented a double challenge. O n the one hand, it i n v o l v e d the translation ( in a broad sense o f the term) o f ideas and concepts back and forth between two languages and contexts: first, to create a theoretical framework w i t h explanatory power w i t h i n the Spanish context; and second, to br ing those concepts, often modi f ied , back inside the parameters o f international academic debates. O n the other hand, I a imed to study immigra t ion i n Spa in from a Geographica l perspective, a rare approach i n Spa in and i n Europe despite the fact that both phenomena under scrutiny, immigra t ion and ci t izenship, are about space: the former about people crossing terri torial , administrat ive, and s y m b o l i c borders; and the latter about the membership o f ind iv idua l s to the terr i torial ly defined communi ty and government that is the nation-state. I had to j u m p over l inguis t ic , national , and d i sc ip l inary boundaries i n m y search for ideas that w o u l d help me b r ing space to the centre o f the picture. In the pages that f o l l o w , I b r ing together the m a i n theoretical perspectives and concepts o n the fields o f immigra t ion and c i t izenship studies that frame the rest o f this thesis. In both cases I identify international debates first, and then put them i n dialogue w i t h the Spanish literature. 8 T H E P L A C E O F T H E IMMIGRANT O T H E R IN T H E \" N A T I O N A L O R D E R OF TH INGS\" : D E B A T E S A T T H E INTERNATIONAL AND SPANISH L E V E L S . W o r l d atlases represent the w o r l d as a flat space d iv ided i n c lear ly de l imi ted surfaces o f different colours by clear-cut l ines. The same overs impl i f ied i l l u s i o n pervades our v i s i o n o f human societies, w h i c h we imagine as d iv ided i n distinct nations governed by sovereign and independent states. The nation was defined b y Benedic t A n d e r s o n as \"an imagined po l i t i ca l commun i ty - and imagined as both inherently l imi t ed and sovere ign\" (1991, p. 6). The members o f the national communi ty \"are bound together b y a sense o f sol idar i ty rooted i n an his tor ic attachment tb a homeland and a c o m m o n culture, and by a consciousness o f be ing different from other nations\" (Smi th , 2004, p. 532). The concept o f the nation-state rests on three m a i n condit ions: imaginat ion, borders, and self-governance. Firs t , the national communi ty is imagined, because the \"essence\" that binds its members is necessari ly abstract: it does not derive from direct interactions, but f rom a discourse o f shared direct ion - past, present, and future -dependent o n the continued re-creation o f national histor(ies) (Fr iedman, 1992). Second, the nat ion is l imi ted , compounded o n l y b y a fraction o f humankind ; but the s y m b o l i c borders o f the nat ion are re la t ive ly malleable , and their evolu t ion uncovers the h is tor ica l , spatial, and social mot ivat ions o f the po l i t i ca l leaders (Fr iedman, 1992, p. 856; see also A g n e w , 2003). A n d f ina l ly , the nation is conceived as free and self-governing, where the \"gauge and emblem o f this freedom is the sovereign state\" (Anderson , 1991, p. 7). K a r m i s and M a c l u r e (2001) argue that contemporary Europe is s t i l l trapped i n this \"paradigm o f monis t i c authentici ty\" o f the nation-state. A c c o r d i n g to this paradigm, \"po l i t i ca l and socia l eli tes ' interpretation o f g iven identities have continued to be largely dominated b y attempts at ident i fy ing one authentic and immutable source o f ident i ty\" (361), most often the nat ion. The mode l o f the nation-state, w h i c h originated i n Europe dur ing the 1 9 t h century, has important impl ica t ions for the study o f international migra t ion: the w o r l d has become gradual ly d i v i d e d i n idea l ized unities i n w h i c h nation, government, and territory have 9 been bound together, impos ing a \"national order o f things\" ( M a l k k i , 1992). The relationship between people and territory is constructed as natural and expla ined i n \"arborescent\" and \" f ami l i a r \" metaphors, representing indiv iduals as rooted into their mother- and father-lands through strong, naturalized bonds ( M a l k k i , 1992). T h e terr i torial izat ion o f people ' s identities imposes a strong sense o f sedentarianism on the w a y humank ind is imagined and governed: ind iv idua ls \"be long\" to nation-states -m o b i l i t y should be an exception; permanent migra t ion becomes a st igmatized condi t ion . Refugees and T h i r d W o r l d immigrants (the \"unwanted\") suffer especial ly f rom the \"pathologizat ion o f uprootedness\" characteristic o f post-war Europe ( M a l k k i , 1992). Moreove r , the d i v i s i o n o f the inhabitants o f the planet into sedentary and discrete entities fosters the v i s i o n o f an \"us\" that becomes in te l l ig ib le on ly through its opposi t ion to an imagined \"other\" beyond the national border ( B o w d e n , 2003, p. 244). T h i s d iscuss ion o n the nation-state and national identities is relevant for the study o f immigra t ion and ci t izenship i n Spa in for two reasons. Firs t , it emphasizes that international migra t ion is a construction that depends, first and foremost, o n the moderniza t ion o f pol i t ics : the d i v i s i o n o f the w o r l d i n discrete territories, governments, and people i n nation-states. The category o f the immigrant does not exist i n a po l i t i ca l vacuum. The emergence, i n the context o f the E U , o f the category o f the third-country or non-communi tar ian immigrant (defined not b y her attachment to another nation-state, but to her lack o f attachment to any o f the E U member states) exemplif ies the extent to w h i c h the state can create and redefine the categories o f migra t ion . Second, national identities are mal leable and change according to specif ic interests. A s many have noted before, immigra t ion and integration pol ic ies are k e y elements o f national projects, and w o r k as instruments for the inc lus ion / exc lus ion , select ivi ty o f foreigners, or even as popula t ion pol ic ies (Fave l l , 2001 ; G i l Arau jo , 2006; L e y and Hiebert , 2001) . ,The shift ing, shr ink ing , and expansion o f national belongings and.alliances can be traced and studied through the evolu t ion o f immigra t ion and ci t izenship pol ic ies . 10 O N SPAIN'S OUTSIDERS: FOREIGNERS A N D IMMIGRANTS. The Europeaniza t ion o f Spain and its transition to a country o f immigra t ion , both processes c lose ly l inked , have contributed to the d iv i s i on o f the foreign popula t ion i n two m a i n categories: the foreigner and the (third-country or n o n - E U ) immigrant . A l t h o u g h both are labels that emphasize the strangeness o f the other, the impl ica t ions o f each are very different. Spa in ' s foreigner is close to S i m m e l ' s classic def ini t ion o f the stranger quoted at the beginning o f this chapter. S y m b o l i c a l l y , the foreigner occupies a dominant pos i t ion also relative to the loca l popula t ion. In,his b o o k Z a Incognita del Extraho (\"The mystery o f the stranger\") Santamaria (2000) notes that in Spain the label \"foreigner\" is appl ied to tourists, international students, qual i f ied workers , diplomats , weal thy pensioners, and C E O s o f mul t ina t ional companies from different parts o f the w o r l d . Immigrants and refugees, on the other hand, represent the darker side o f otherness: the poorer, less educated, economica l ly mot ivated, and presumably undocumented \"other\". It goes without saying that immigrants thus represented do not ho ld a dominant pos i t ion i n Spanish society. A l t h o u g h technica l ly many foreigners are i n fact immigrants and many immigrants are b e c o m i n g ci t izens, non-nationals are assigned to one group or the other depending o n their national or igins and perceived ethnicity; i n other words , the rac ia l iza t ion o f ethnic identities that results from the d i v i s i o n o f the w o r l d i n nation-states is at the root o f the category o f the immigrant (Moreno , 1998). In Spain , a b lack international student w i l l regular ly be perceived as an immigrant regardless o f her permit and qualif icat ions, w h i l e a whi te i nd iv idua l f rom Canada w i l l consistently fa l l under the category o f the foreigner. The categories o f the foreigner and the immigrant do not exhaust the poss ibi l i t ies o f assigned otherness i n the Spanish context though. T h e l ine between the \" s e l f (Spaniard) and the \"other\" (foreigner or immigrant) is not absolute: foreignness i n Spa in constitutes \" a complex and sinuous and layered space that conjugates several degrees o f inc lus ions and exclus ions , ordinations and subordinations\" (Santamaria, 2002, 56; author's translation). E v e n more complex categorizations o f the \"outsider\" that consider the legal status o f foreigners (documented / undocumented, refugee, temporary / 11 permanent resident, naturalized foreigner, etc.) or their mot ivat ions to emigrate (economic, po l i t i ca l , and so forth) are not comprehensive: many immigrants exist w i t h i n the l i m i n a l spaces o f such categories. These categorizations, for example, cannot exp la in the place that many L a t i n A m e r i c a n (and especial ly Argent inean) immigrants occupy i n contemporary Spain. Argentineans have been foreigners i n the t ime o f the indianos; pol i t i ca l refugees dur ing V i d e l a ' s dictatorship; returnees c o m i n g back to the land o f their parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents; and are increas ingly perceived as immigrants . There have been several attempts at categorizing Argent inean immigra t ion to Spa in (see for example Esteban, 2003; M i r a D e l l i Zo t t i and Esteban, 2003; A c t i s and Esteban, forthcoming). T h e relationship between Argent ineans and the Spanish nat ion-state is a long , complicated one that cannot be comprehended through s imple , un id imens iona l analyt ical categorizations. T h e complex representations o f Argent inean immigrants i n Spa in ( w h i c h I discuss i n chapter V ) m a y result, i n part, from the long-standing popula t ion exchanges between Spa in and Argen t ina dur ing the last centuries. T h e relationship between the two countries supports the argument that \"migra t ion f lows acquire a measure o f stabil i ty and structure over space and t ime, a l l o w i n g for the ident if icat ion o f stable international migra t ion systems\" between sending and rece iv ing societies, as argued b y migra t ion systems theory (Massey , A r a n g o , H u g o , K o u a o u c i , Pe l legr ino , and Tay lo r , 1993, 454). M i g r a t i o n system theory bui lds on w o r l d systems theory, insti tutional theory, networks theory, and the theory o f cumulat ive causation. Together, these argue that the emergence o f migra t ion systems is reinforced b y l inks between people, national economies, cultures and institutions. Argent inean migra t ion to Spa in w o u l d be part o f one o f the t rans-Atlant ic subsystems that l inks Europe and L a t i n A m e r i c a (Ac t i s and Esteban, for thcoming) . A s they cross the border at the airport, Argent ineans reinforce this migra t ion system; at the same t ime, the system and the meaning o f such immigra t ion is channel led through the institutions o f the country, the characteristics o f the newcomers , and the su rv iv ing col lec t ive memories o f past interactions between the Argent inean and the Spanish communi t ies . The indianos were the Spanish emigrants who migrated to Latin America (mostly to Argentina) in times of economic hardship and returned wealthy. I will elaborate on this in chapter V. 12 POLITICIZATION, SECURITIZATION, A N D NEO-ASSIMILATIONISM IN SPANISH POLITICS. In Spa in , debates on immigra t ion engage w i t h broader discussions at the European leve l that tend to conceive o f international migra t ion (specif ical ly that or ig inat ing outside the borders o f the E U ) as a threat to the insti tution o f the nation-state. Some scholars have noted that such discussions share a tendency towards an increasing po l i t i c i za t ion and securi t izat ion o f immigra t ion i n the European context (Huysmans , 2006), the emergence o f new systems for managing i n c o m i n g f lows o f people (Kof fman , 2005), and the creation o f a hierarchy o f otherness according to the ethnic and racial characteristics o f the immigrants (Goldberg , 2006; G i l r o y , 2005; for Spa in see A g r e l a R o m e r o and G i l Arau jo , 2004). Poli t ic izat ion The po l i t i c i za t ion o f immigra t ion i n Spa in reflects the rapidi ty w i t h w h i c h Spa in has wa lked the path o f Europeaniza t ion . Europeaniza t ion is at the core o f the re-defini t ion o f contemporary Spanish-hood and immigra t ion laws: l i ke other countries o f Southern Europe, the processes o f modern iza t ion and Europeaniza t ion o f Spa in were not o n l y paral lel i n t ime, but deeply interdependent. A s Laf fan states it, F o r the peripheral states (...) Europe became the project for their future. A l t h o u g h the emphasis m a y have been on material is t ic considerations, the European project also p rov ided important s y m b o l i c assurance for these states b y af f i rming their place i n the European Order . (...) F o r the Medi terranean states E U membership symbo l i zed the end o f dictatorship, an acceptance o f democrat ic values and an external barrier against the reappearance o f authoritarian rule. F o r Spa in i n particular, E U membersh ip meant a reversal o f a process w h i c h had led to a de-Europeaniza t ion o f Spa in from the t ime o f P h i l i p II to the last quarter o f the twentieth century (Laffan , 1996, p. 87) The transformation o f Spa in into a country o f immigra t ion is perceived to be a result o f such modern iza t ion / Europeaniza t ion and requires the severing o f ties w i t h the past, i n c l u d i n g its past as a co lon ia l power i n L a t i n A m e r i c a . The third-country immigran t becomes a key figure for national pol i t ics not o n l y because o f its increased presence, but also because o f its \"c lose relat ionship w i t h the idea o f Europe , o f 13 moderni ty\" (Santamaria, 2002, p. 118; author's translation) and thus assumes a central role i n national pol i t ics . Immigrat ion also achieves this pos i t ion through the construction o f a direct relat ionship between the immigrant and security i n the mainstream po l i t i ca l discourse. Securit izat ion T h e po l i t i c i za t ion o f immigra t ion has resulted i n the perception o f the phenomenon as a danger to the surv iva l o f the nation. Huysmans argues that the feelings o f uneasiness that arise f rom the real izat ion that the immigrant other is i n \"our\" territory have recently der ived i n the construction o f the phenomenon as an existential threat (2006). Hos t i l e reactions to foreigners are not new: i n countries w i t h l ong stories o f immigra t ion such as France or Great B r i t a i n the depic t ion o f the immigrant as a threat has deep roots (see for example P o w e l l ' s c lassic speech \" R i v e r s o f B l o o d \" , 1968). B u t Huysmans (2000) argues that immigra t ion has recently become a \"meta-issue\": \" a phenomenon that can be referred to as the cause o f many p rob lems\" used b y \" soc i a l and po l i t i ca l agencies (...) to interrelate a range o f po l i t i ca l issues i n their struggle over power, resources and knowledge\" (p. 762). Immigra t ion is perceived as a threat to the welfare state, to internal security and domestic peace, and to the cul tural su rv iva l o f the nation (Huysmans , 2000 and 2006; K o f f m a n , 2005). In Spa in discussions on immigra t ion construct the phenomenon as a threat to the cultural surv iva l o f the nation where immigrants (v i s ib ly) chal lenge the m y t h o f national homogenei ty and uncover the strength o f the discourse o f \"cul tural fundamenta l i sm\" i n Europe, despite the anti-racist and ant i -xenophobic of f ic ia l rhetoric (Stolcke, 1995; Go ldbe rg , 2006; Huysmans , 2000). The discourse o f cultural fundamental ism, w h i c h arose i n late 2 0 l h century Europe around immigra t ion , conceives o f humans as be long ing to so l id i f ied and stable cultural groups that are incompat ib le w i t h each other. A c c o r d i n g to Stolke , . . . . cultural fundamentalism/essential ism does reify culture, but it is i n real i ty about relationships between cultures as understood as bounded, in ternal ly homogenous, integrated and exclus ive sets o f values, behaviour and meanings w h i c h are thought to be inevi tab ly threatened b y foreigners who b y def in i t ion have a different culture (quoted i n Fe ldman , 2005, p. 223). 14 Some have suggested that the European vers ion o f cultural fundamentalism, very strong i n Spain , is just a form o f neo-racism - a continuation o f the o ld discourse under a new guise, used to jus t i fy ant i - immigra t ion pol i t ics and to remind us o f the phys ica l and s y m b o l i c l imi t s o f the nation (Doty , 1999). Th i s seems to be the case in Spain , where culture and the phenotype are bundled together as anchors for d iscr iminat ion against immigrants accord ing to their national or igins and ethnicity i n what some observers have labeled \"c ryp to- rac i sm\" or insti tutional rac ism (Agre l a Romero , 2006). T h i s issue is further explored i n chapter four o f this thesis. A t the European leve l , the U n i o n is responding to threats posed b y third-country immigra t ion on the nation-state w i t h a double move . Firs t , the E U has located immigra t ion and asy lum laws at the core o f the European project. The goal is to eventual ly attain the standardization o f immigra t ion and v i sa requirements at the regional leve l . Second, Europe is ra is ing its borders, the borders o f Schengen, to protect Europe f rom the dangerous other. Spa in is key to the construct ion o f the wa l l s o f the European fortress, as its territory constitutes a double frontier w i t h the G l o b a l South: first, due to its geographical p rox imi ty , Spa in is the border w i t h A f r i c a ; and second, because o f the strength o f the his tor ical and cultural l inks w i th its former colonies, Spa in is the border w i t h L a t i n A m e r i c a . Some even argue that the seal ing o f the Southern European border, and therefore the Spanish border, is \"about suturing the cultural identity o f Europe. T h i s desire for clari ty, the need to k n o w precisely where Europe ends, is about the construction o f a s y m b o l i c geography that w i l l separate the insiders f rom the outsiders\" ( M o r l e y , 1998, quoted i n P i ck l e s , 2005). The present study assumes that the increasing obstacles for Argent inean immigrants to enter and l i ve i n Spa in is c lose ly related to this need to clar i fy, fortify, and patrol the borders o f the Schengen space. The meanings o f Schengen are mul t ip le : it is a geopol i t ica l border, an extension o f the national border, and a b iopo l i t i ca l border. In a l l three cases Schengen is a site for the product ion o f po l i t i ca l power - among territories, po l i t i ca l institutions, and people o n both sides o f it. T h i s border has the m i s s i o n to b u i l d a distinct internal space for the free movement o f capital , goods, and people, a space necessari ly d iv ided and distinct f rom the outside. Furthermore, it ensures the funct ioning o f the migratory regime and helps select 15 those workers w i t h sk i l l s that are more beneficial for the European economies. Schengen is the expression o f a broader tendency i n w h i c h \"the l ibera l iza t ion o f trade and finance at regional and g lobal levels is accompanied by a new set o f po l i t i ca l anxieties about borders, cr ime, i l lega l migrat ion, and terrorism, along w i t h po l i t i ca l demands and init iat ives to assert the power o f the border\" (Walters, 2002, p. 561). In ra is ing these borders, Spa in assumes it has to erase, or at least d imin i sh , the p r iv i leged relat ionship that dur ing the centuries it has maintained w i t h the La t i n A m e r i c a n governments and populat ions. Neo-assimilat ionism. Some o f the \"treatment o f preference\" that L a t i n Amer i cans enjoyed i n the past has surv ived i n integration pol ic ies and ci t izenship legis lat ion. W h i l e some scholars have noted that the trend towards the securi t ization o f immigra t ion i n the E U dur ing the last two decades has been accompanied by a retreat f rom mul t icu l tu ra l i sm (Kof fman , 2005; Brubaker , 2003) i n Spa in integration pol ic ies have been marked ly assimilat ionist since their incept ion. C l a s s i c ass imi la t ion pol ic ies were born i n the U S i n the early 2 0 t h century. In the 1960s G o r d o n theorized the concept o f ass imila t ion o f immigrants into A m e r i c a n society. A c c o r d i n g to h i m , ass imi la t ion described and prescribed the gradual ass imi la t ion (cultural , economic , soc ia l , and pol i t ica l ) o f a heterogeneous group o f immigrants into an idea l ized homogeneous loca l society (Gordon , 1964). T h i s perspective has l ong been cr i t i c ized , and instead the neo-assimilat ionist agenda pursues a more nuanced transformation o f the immigrants based i n the internal izat ion o f the core basic pr inc ip les that guide the democrat ic l i fe o f the nation (Kof fman , 2005). Such pr inciples , however , are rarely defined. Spa in embraced the neo-assimilat ionist perspective since the first comprehensive immigra t ion l aw was passed i n Parl iament i n 1985. That first immigra t i on l aw and its second vers ion, passed w i t h great pa in i n 2000 and mod i f i ed several t imes, created the insti tutional context for the design and implementat ion o f integration programs at the national l eve l , f i rm ly anchored i n the tenets o f cul tura l ism and ass imi la t ionism: 16 integration was conceived to be a process o f \"accul tura l iza t ion\" for w h i c h some immigrant groups were more fit than others depending on their national o r ig in . A s the paradigm o f cultural fundamental ism explained (Stolcke, 1995), in Europe and i n Spa in , where the language o f the phenotype is not on ly discredited but also forbidden, the concept o f culture is deployed to mark the l imi t s o f the imagined communi ty . B u t \"cul ture\" on ly bare ly hides racial prejudice: the phenotypical encounter, so, recent i n Spain , is g i v i n g w a y to deeply d iscr iminatory pol ic ies that at the same t ime decry rac ism as a deadly s in w h i l e they jus t i fy the selection o f those immigrants perceived as more apt for cultural ass imi la t ion into the national society. INTERNATIONAL D E B A T E S ON C ITIZENSHIP APPLIED TO T H E SPANISH C O N T E X T . Techn ica l ly , a l l ind iv iduals w h o leave their country o f o r ig in and move , more or less permanently, to another country cross ing national boundaries are international migrants. T h i s is so regardless o f their legal status: undocumented immigrants , po l i t i ca l refugees, temporary or permanent residents, natural ized foreigners, and so forth are a l l immigrants . In Spain , however , immigrants van ish from the off ic ia l statistics once they obtain Spanish ci t izenship; they \"natural ize\" and melt into the Spanish society. T h e y are no longer considered immigrants for governmental and often research purposes. In this section I w i l l explore the m a i n theoretical debates that can help us understand the meanings and impl ica t ions o f legal c i t izenship i n the Spanish context. B u t before engaging i n such discuss ion, it is wor th spending some t ime c la r i fy ing the concepts o f nat ionali ty and ci t izenship. Na t iona l i ty and ci t izenship are frequently used as synonyms, but they are not. Na t iona l i ty denotes \" a legal relat ionship between an ind iv idua l and a state according to w h i c h the i nd iv idua l is subject to the pub l i c authority and the legal order o f that state\"; it situates the ind iv idua l as a passive subject. B y contrast, c i t izenship \" is the status that encompasses the rights, duties, benefits and burdens that fo l l ow from a person's nat ional i ty\"; the i nd iv idua l as a c i t izen participates i n shaping the po l i ty (Preuss, Everson , K o e n i g - A r c h i b u g i , and Lefebvre , 2003, p. 7). Furthermore, c i t izenship is a complex concept that can denote mul t ip le levels o f be long ing to the communi ty (legal, po l i t i ca l , 17 po l i t i ca l , soc ia l , cul tural , economic , etc.). Here I w i l l mos t ly refer to the legal c i t izenship that fo l lows from the acquis i t ion o f nationality. CITIZENSHIP, NATIONHOOD, A N D THE DEMISE OF THE NATION-STATE. Is in defined c i t izenship as \"that particular point o f v i e w o f the dominant, w h i c h constitutes i t se l f as a universal point o f v i e w \" (2002, p. 275): a mechanism o f exc lus ion / i nc lus ion that regulates the d i sc r imina t ion o f ind iv idua ls according to part icular understandings o f national identity and membership to the po l i ty (Schuster and So lomos , 2002). T h e status o f c i t izen w i t h i n a nation-state carries a who le set o f economic , soc ia l , and po l i t i ca l rights that va ry from country to country. T h e evolu t ion o f the concept o f c i t izenship has been di rect ly l i nked to the development o f the modern nation-state since the 1 9 t h century, w h e n c i t izenship gradual ly replaced other k inds o f group allegiances as \"the m a i n determinant o f access to resources, rights and to the institutions o f po l i t i ca l par t ic ipa t ion\" (Tambin i , 2001 , p. 202). Fo rmer ly l imi t ed to a few sectors o f society, c i t izenship i n European countries became more and more inc lus ive dur ing the 2 0 t h century, w h i l e the rights (and less so the duties) o f those entitled to it increased (Marsha l l , 1964). T o d a y po l i t i ca l membership is open to a l l socia l groups independent o f socia l class, gender, or race - p rov ided that they are nationals. T h e acquis i t ion o f nationali ty, and therefore o f the status as a fu l l member o f the pol i ty , is regulated through state laws. Foreigners can become cit izens through their p lace o f b i r th (ius soli) i n the case o f the second and subsequent generations, b l o o d ties w i t h the nat ion through ancestry or marriage (ius sanguini), or t ime o f legal residence i n the nat ional territory (ius domicili). A l l European states have h y b r i d laws that put more or less emphasis o n each o f these three factors. Some scholars argue that the l imi t s o f c i t izenship are dependent o n re la t ive ly stable and h i s to r ica l ly determined modes o f understanding the nation. Often they argue that there are two m a i n models o f nat ionhood that conceive the nat ion as either an ethnic or a c i v i c communi ty . In the first case, the nat ion is based on the cul tural affinities o f its members, its past and its shared ancestry; i n the second, the nat ion is conce ived as a commun i ty o f ci t izens w h o share an array o f rights, duties, and l iberal -democrat ic values 18 (Janmaat, 2006). In 1992 Rogers Brubaker l i nked these two types o f nat ionhood wi th two models o f c i t izenship regimes, the ethnic and the c i v i c , exempl i f ied by Ge rman y and France respectively. H e further argued that nations defined in c i v i c terms fo l lowed more often the pr inc ip le o f ius soli (attribution o f ci t izenship by place o f birth), w h i l e nations that conceived o f themselves as ethnic communi t ies tended to articulate their c i t izenship regimes around the pr inc ip le o f ius sanguini (attribution o f ci t izenship by ancestry). Brubaker ' s unproblematic relationship between nat ionhood and ci t izenship stirred quite a bit o f debate. Some argued that it was overs impl i s t ic and rel ied too m u c h on history: it d i d not account for the changes that occur over t ime on the insti tution o f ci t izenship. In fact, as F a v e l l (2001) and Joppke (2005) showed in their studies, the evo lv ing economic and po l i t i ca l interests o f the state constantly challenge the symbol i c and insti tutional boundaries o f the national communi ty . M a y b e more t roubl ing is the argument that w e are witness ing the last days o f legal c i t izenship as it was t radi t ional ly conceived. Current debates on the disempowerment o f the nation-state i n an era o f po l i t i ca l , socia l , and economic g loba l iza t ion and increas ingly m o b i l e people shed doubts on the surv iva l o f national c i t izenship. Scholars arguing for the demise o f tradit ional c i t izenship cite the emergence o f post-national membership regimes, the creation o f supra-national pol i t ies such as the E U , and new forms o f mul t icu l tura l c i t izenship as evidence o f the decl ine o f the nation-state and its derived institutions (Joppke, 1998). In 1994 Soysa l explored the emergence o f post-national forms o f membership that, she argued, w o u l d mark a decoupl ing o f nat ional i ty and ci t izenship rights. A c c o r d i n g to Soysa l , this is a consequence o f the g r o w i n g interdependence among states, w h i c h forces them into the discourse o f human rights and l imi t s their sovereignty. In this scenario o f \" g l o b a l l y l imi ted sovereignty\" (Joppke, 1998), a de facto c i t izenship w o u l d substitute current de jure a l locat ion o f rights among those who l ive w i t h i n the boundaries o f the nation-state, independently from their legal status. Wi thou t denying the increasing interdependence among the states and the impact o f the H u m a n Rights discourse i n national pol i t ics , some scholars have argued that Soysa l ' s analysis focused on the situation o f the l ega l ly settled, but fai led to exp la in the experiences o f those w i t h precarious status, l i ke clandestine immigrants or a sy lum seekers ( K o f m a n , 2005). In 19 Spain , the benefits o f the post-national c i t izenship described by Soysa l seem to be either a rhetorical device (Schuster and So lomos , 2002) or a luxury reserved for E U ci t izens. Soysal based her argument on the emergence o f post-national forms o f memberships such as European ci t izenship, born i n the 1990s. However , European c i t izenship can hardly serve as a p r o o f that we are wi tness ing the decline o f national c i t izenship , as membership to the European po l i ty is s t i l l dependent on membership i n one o f the member countries. In Europe, national membership remains f i r m l y regulated b y the state. Furthermore, the E U has no say whatsoever on how states regulate the acquis i t ion o f c i t izenship: the a l locat ion and quali ty o f ci t izenship rights remain under the pu rv i ew o f the nation-state (Joppke, 1999). E v e n i f it were possible for the E U to interfere w i t h c i t izenship l aw, it remains to be seen whether the U n i o n w o u l d see any benefit i n expanding ci t izenship rights to non-ci t izenships. Some scholars ser iously doubt it. F o r example , Javier de Lucas (1998, 2005) argues that i n fact the E U suffers f rom the \"Athens syndrome\": it aims to recover a democrat ic m o d e l s imi lar to that o f classic . Athens , \"gu ided b y the ideals o f c iv i l i z a t i on , justice, rat ionali ty, w e l l be ing , and progress\". Bu t , as i n Athens , this mode l requires the exc lus ion o f external and internal others: the barbarians and slaves o f classical Greece have become the non-ci t izens (\" immigrants\") and the infra-cit izens (citizens marg ina l ized by economic and po l i t i ca l practices o f the nation-state; de Lucas , 1998, 51; author's translation): F i n a l l y , some argue that the increasing divers i ty o f populations i n Europe is leading to the creation o f mul t icu l tura l forms o f c i t izenship (Kofman , 2005; Joppke, 1999). F o r example,_Joppke (1999) observes that an \" o v e r w h e l m i n g trend i n Western immigran t - rece iv ing states is towards l ibera l ized ci t izenship regimes .. .par t ia l ly revers ing a two-hundred-year t radi t ion o f increas ingly ' e thn ic ized ' c i t izenship i n Eu ro pe\" (p. 645-646). H o w e v e r i n Spa in , w i t h the except ion o f the increasing acceptance o f dual c i t izenship , there is no support for the hypothesis that a more l ibera l ized (pol i t ical) c i t izenship is emerging. 20 T H E LIMITS OF CITIZENSHIP IN CONTEMPORARY SPAIN As I have discussed in the previous section, any celebration of the emergence of post-national citizenship seems premature in the Spanish context. It is more accurate to describe post-national citizenship as a goal that is aspired to. In any case, debates on immigration and citizenship call for the study of these concepts to be dynamic and fluid. National regimes of integration, including citizenship, have evolved through time, and are evolving at the moment, by virtue of the relations between a variety of places: between European states, the Global North and the Global South, the East and the West, defunct empires and their former colonies. As the meaning of the nation changes and it adapts to a new global and regional order, so does citizenship change. Following the hypothesis that there is a close relationship between nationhood and citizenship, some studies have used large-scale surveys to test the civic-ethnic framework in different European countries (see for example Janmaat, 2006). In Spain, Medrano (2005) used a survey on national identity to explore the ways Spaniards conceive of the nation. His research showed that there was no consensus on the way the Spanish nation was defined by its members. Instead, Medrano argued that Spaniards have a complex understanding of the nation that mixes civic and ethnic principles. Through an analysis of legal norms and popular attitudes towards the incorporation of immigrants as citizens of Spanish society, Medrano further proposed to combine the ethnic-civic and credentialist - postnationalist axes. He concluded that; on the one hand, Spaniards conceived of the Spanish nation in strong ethnic and biological terms; in order to be \"a true Spaniard\" individuals had to meet several requirements (\"credentials\"). He also found strong support for assimilationist modes of integrating immigrants. On the other hand, Medrano argued that there was also relatively strong support for civic and post national understandings of the nation: Spaniards considered themselves to be \"tolerant towards immigrants\" (as long as they are legal), supported the extension of ius soli provisions for the acquisition of citizenship by second-generation immigrants, and agreed to extend citizen rights to legal immigrants. As Medrano notes, \"Spanish views, perceptions and attitudes concerning the nation, citizenship and immigration are only mildly consistent with each other\" (2005, 154). 21 T h i s lack o f consistency matches the f ind ing that there is a g r o w i n g disjuncture between immigra t ion l aw ( increasingly articulated around c i v i c and human rights pr inciples) and ci t izenship l aw (sti l l supporting ethnic understandings o f Spanish-hood). Cons ide r ing the importance o f c i t izenship, w h i c h is a secure status as w e l l as the o n l y mechan i sm that immigrants have to c l a i m and defend their economic, socia l and po l i t i ca l rights (Schuster and So lomos , 2002; Joppke, 1999), the support o f an ethnic-based ci t izenship regime results in the broadly accepted rank ing o f immigrants accord ing to their national or igins . C i t i zensh ip cou ld consequently be used as a mechan i sm for exc lud ing those who are perceived b y the state as be ing \"more\" different. In Spain , several strands o f legis la t ion and popular discourse support a hierarchy o f immigrant otherness where Lat inos , thanks to the his tor ical and cultural l inks between Spa in and L a t i n A m e r i c a , occupy a p r iv i leged pos i t ion w i t h i n the general immigrant communi ty . Spa in ' s entry into the E U and the creation o f the figure o f the European c i t izen has further segmented the Spanish ci t izenship regime. Today , inhabitants i n the country are not just Spaniards or foreigners, but there is also a two- fo ld d iscr iminat ion among immigrant communi t ies : first, between E U and n o n - E U cit izens; and second among non-E U ci t izens, between L a t i n Amer i cans and the rest (this point w i l l be further expla ined i n chapter I V ) . There is also evidence o f an increasing resistance towards the legal integration o f foreigners into the Spanish po l i ty through ci t izenship. G i v i n g foreigners fu l l rights is conceived as an intrusion into the state's affairs that w o u l d seriously interfere w i t h the p r inc ip le o f national sovereignty (Flores, 2004). Furthermore, i n Spain , l i ke i n other E U countries were immigra t ion is perceived as a threat, the assumption is that \"the acquis i t ion o f c i t izenship b y ' foreigners ' is a conscious strategy to exploi t a valuable commodi ty , and that somehow national c i t izenship is thereby devalued, especia l ly when, as is frequently assumed i n the press, there is l i t t le desire to integrate (Schuster and So lomos , 2002, 46). T h i s host i l i ty seems to combine w i t h the tenets o f cul tural fundamental ism and y i e l d a c i t izenship regime that benefits L a t i n A m e r i c a n s over a l l other foreigners. 22 C O N C L U D I N G R E M A R K S In the preceding pages, I have tried to integrate and adapt several strands of literature originating in different contexts, languages, and disciplines in order to construct a theoretical body that will appropriately frame the study of immigration and the integration of Argentinean immigrants in contemporary Spain. With this, my aim has been to identify areas of research that1 would benefit from engagement with international perspectives and contribute to overcoming the limitations of immigration and citizenship studies in Spain. First, regarding the concept of international migration, it is worth noting that it depends first and foremost on the grouping of territory, people, and government into nation-states. The conflation of the three yields a vision of collective identities as rooted to the territory and promotes the stigmatization of migration, especially on the part of economic immigrants and refugees from the Global South. However, evidence shows that the limits of national identities are not fixed, but rather evolve according to the economic and political interests of national elites. In the case of Spain, for example, national identity has gone through a profound transformation in recent decades, largely due to the influence of the EU. The processes of Europeanization and modernization are perceived as deeply interdependent. Immigration, in turn, is conceived of as a consequence of the two; the international migrant emerges as a key signifier of the modernization of the country. National boundaries not only can and do shift, but the area between the self and the other is often a grey zone. Analytical categories such as economic migration, return migration, foreigner and immigrant, and so forth are useful to make theory, but we should bear in mind that they do not exhaust the possible scripts for interaction among the inhabitants of the country. The Argentinean community in Spain serves well to illustrate this point, as Argentinean immigrants occupy several of those categories concurrently. These lines drawn between the national self and the immigrant other in contemporary Spain have also to be seen in the larger context of the politicization and securitization of immigration in the European Union. In the countries of the Southern European migration regime immigration has emerged as one of the cornerstones of 23 national politics. In the case of Spain, however, the tradition of privilege towards Latin American citizens and the cultural assimilationism of integration policies yield a place for Latinos within the liminal spaces of the national community. In other words, as \"cultural neighbours\" Latin Americans are not as badly perceived as other third-country immigrant groups. The long history of Spanish migrations to Latin America and especially to Argentina supports the argument that there is a long-standing migration system between Spain and its former colonies in America. According to migration systems theory, migration flows tend to stabilize over time, linking the societies from the sending and receiving areas. Argentina and Spain would then be part of a larger migration system that has linked Latin America and Europe for centuries. The growth of social networks and the resulting decrease in migration costs would tend to promote further migration, reinforcing inter-national population flows within the system. Together with immigration, the second theoretical concept that I have worked on in this chapter is legal citizenship, conceived as an institutionalized form of inclusion / exclusion that regulates access to the social, economic, and political rights administered by the state. Drawing from the literature on the relationship between nationalism and citizenship, I argue that the legislation on legal citizenship especially as it pertains to access to citizenship on the part of immigrants can shed some light on the perception of the immigrant other (and therefore, of the national self). I also argue, drawing both from the literature and from my own research, that national citizenship is far from obsolete in contemporary Spain. Citizenship provides immigrants with a more secure status, grants them access to an array of rights reserved to citizens, and remains one of the main instruments for their integration. I believe these theoretical perspectives provide useful tools for studying the meanings of immigration and the implications of legal citizenship in contemporary Spain. After a brief digression on the methods and approach used on this research, I will use this framework to analyze statistical data, government documents, popular discourses, and interviews with immigrants in an effort to help fill some gaps in contemporary theorizations of immigration in Spain. 24 CHAPTER II ON THE FIELD: APPROACHES, STRATEGIES, SURPRISES. ...social researchers draw on their everyday knowledge and on their political and moral values in the process of research; they use them to set the research agenda and to design classification systems; they use their social, as well as professional, skills to obtain information; they employ their knowledge as members of society and their political values to analyze and interpret their findings. But accepting this inevitable and indissoluble link between scientific and everyday thinking and between social theories and moral and political values does not make critical investigation impossible. O'Connell Davidson and Layder (1994), p. 28. Raised by a positivist researcher (my father) and educated in the Marxist-positivist Sociological tradition, it has not been easy to accept that my social identity deeply impacts all stages of the research process (inception, gathering of the data, and interpretation). To abandon the belief in the production of objective knowledge, however, does not mean to give up the hopes to produce good research - research that is rigorous, which contributes to our knowledge of a particular social phenomenon, and which can help guide informed decision-making. In that sense, this thesis embraces the notions of situated knowledge (Haraway, 1988): the research in the following chapters is the result of my particular perspective and has no pretensions to uncover universal, immutable truths. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of the integration of Argentinean-born immigrants into the Spanish polity from a critical perspective. Three strategies overarch this research: flexibility, reflexivity, and triangulation. One of the advantages of flexibility is the constant dialogue that it imposes between the goals of the research, the empirical evidence found in the fieldwork, and the theory through which it is interpreted. When I approached the fieldwork I had no \"research questions\" to respond to - nor did I have a hypothesis to accept or reject. There was just a concern, a curiosity to uncover how the political integration of Argentineans in Spain has changed since \"we\" \"became\" \"Europeans\" - and the wish to understand how. those two categories (\"we\" and \"Europe\") and one process (\"to become\") impact the integration of a particular group of immigrants. This flexible approach to empirical 25 research has forced me to adopt the habit o f re-vis i t ing the relationship between the theory and m y o w n findings i n the f ie ld o n a regular basis. The second strategy, re f lex iv i ty - a \"self-conscious scrutiny o f yourse l f and the social nature o f the research\" ( D o w l i n g , 2002, p. 34) - means an acknowledgement o f the impact that m y o w n social identity introduces i n the research and i n the final interpretation o f the phenomenon under study. T h i s socia l identity is not f ixed but context-dependent. F o r example , i n the interviews I have been seen as an expert and as ignorant, an equal, a confident, a dominant figure, or an annoying presence according to the context and the interviewee. There is no point i n ignor ing the fact that the informat ion col lected has depended upon the interactions established i n each occas ion—it seems more fruitful to take advantage o f this fact, and integrate the broader context o f such interaction into the interpretative process. F i n a l l y , I have considered the same issue - the po l i t i ca l integration o f a part icular immigrant group - f rom several different perspectives and have tried to surpass the dichotomies that too often seem to l i m i t our understanding o f the w o r l d . In order to b u i l d as complete a picture as possible I have triangulated between pr imary and secondary sources, of f ic ia l documents and m e d i a publ icat ions, quantitative and qualitative data, and several v i ews on the same part icular subject (from the mic ro to the macro scale; f rom personal interviews to nat ional statistics). -These three strategies - f l ex ib i l i t y , re f lexi t ivy , and, tr iangulation - and further assumptions about the nature o f social phenomena, research, and the role o f the researcher as an interpreter have condi t ioned the issues under study and the methods used. The issues under scrut iny respond to a double purpose: first, to understand the place assigned to Argent inean-born immigrants w i t h i n Spanish pub l i c p o l i c y i n the f ie ld o f immigra t ion and po l i t i ca l c i t izenship, and to trace its evolu t ion since 1985, the date when Spain j o i n e d the E U and (as a consequence) passed its first comprehensive immigra t i on l aw; and second, to understand the ways i n w h i c h Argent ineans dur ing this per iod perceived themselves to be a part o f Spa in , and used history, ethnicity and mainstream discourses o n ass imila t ion to resist the place assigned to them b y pub l i c p o l i c y . T o proper ly address these concerns impl ies establishing an intimate relationship w i t h the pub l i c representation o f the \" s e l f and the \" immigran t other\" i n contemporary Spa in -26 both as they occur i n the everyday l ives o f the actors i n v o l v e d and as they are regulated through publ ic p o l i c y . T h i s deep knowledge cannot be attained through a narrow use o f research methods. Instead, the use o f \"methodologica l hybr ids\" ( M a h l e r and Pessar, 2006) is key. In this study both quantitative and qualitative methods are used, w i t h a greater emphasis on the latter. T h i s emphasis is consistent w i t h a long-standing tradit ion i n immigra t i on studies since the early twentieth century (e.g. W i r t h , 1928; Thomas and Z n a n i e c k i , 1918-1920). In Geography the m a i n precursor o f the use o f quali tat ive methods was the Human i s t i c movement, born i n the 1970s. Scholars w i t h i n this perspective refused the clear-cut boundaries imposed by scientif ic pos i t i v i sm i n the social sciences. Instead, they advocated for a reconci l ia t ion o f \"society and m a n [sic], to accommodate understanding and w i s d o m , object ivi ty and subjectivity, mater ia l i sm and i d e a l i s m \" ( L e y and Samuels , 1978, p. 9). Humanis t geographers proposed a selective use o f different sources o f informat ion and research methods i n the search for a better understanding (not predict ion) o f social phenomena. Later developments w i t h i n geography have contributed to ensure the place o f qualitative methodologies i n socia l research, notably the w o r k o f cultural , socia l , and feminist geographers. These geographers have i n c o m m o n a tendency towards \"shameless ec lec t i c i sm\" (England , 2002) , al though w i t h a marked preference for quali tat ive research methods. T h e \"ec lec t i c\" strategy i n this study has been attained b y the combina t ion o f data from secondary sources (off ic ial statistics), the careful reading o f government documents (main ly immigra t ion , integration, and c i t izenship legislat ion), med ia analysis, and ethnography. Secondary statistical sources, government documents, and newspaper articles were a l l useful throughout the research process to gain a better understanding o f the context i n w h i c h the integration o f Argent ineans occurred i n Spain . E thnography ( in-depth interviews, in formal conversations, and observer part icipation) was carr ied out i n Spa in i n the later stages o f the research process, between September and December 2006. T h e use o f four different research methods a imed at m i n i m i z i n g the biases introduced b y the l imi ta t ions o f each source and b y m y o w n subjective pos i t ion ing - the under ly ing pr inc ip le is that the r igorous use o f several sources o f data on the part icular issue that w e are to study w i l l y i e l d a more accurate picture o f it. 27 The l imitat ions o f secondary statistical sources w i l l be explained i n chapter III. Some o f the l imitat ions o f the databases used here were their inconsistency, short t ime-span, and lack o f representativeness for certain immigrant groups. These l imita t ions highl ight the fact that unt i l very recently the Spanish government was largely uninterested i n immigra t ion , and b r i n g to the d iscuss ion the po l i t i ca l and economic interests behind the elaboration o f these kinds o f statistics (for a more detailed d iscuss ion o n this issue see for example D o r l i n g and S impson , 1999). The lack o f consistent informat ion throughout the per iod, w h i c h l imi ted the poss ib i l i ty o f k n o w i n g the v o l u m e and profi le o f the Argent inean immigrants pr ior to 1996, m o v e d me to search for informat ion i n the national press. N e w s on emigrat ion ( in the case o f Argent ina) and immigra t ion ( in the case o f Spain) are h igh ly sensitive to external factors such as po l i t i ca l interests or marketabi l i ty o f the story. T h i s source was helpful to uncover overarching pub l i c ideologies o n immigrant integration. F o r this study I focused on the m a i n national newspaper i n Spain , El Pais (1985-2007). Other Spanish and Argent inean newspapers (El Mundo, ABQ and La Nation) were used, although to a lesser extent. In a l l cases I used the newspaper on l ine databases. The mush rooming o f immigra t ion news in the Spanish media since the mid- la te 1990s parallels the developments o f pub l i c p o l i c y i n the fields o f immigra t ion -regulat ing the entry, stay, and integration o f foreigners - and ci t izenship legis la t ion. A s w e w i l l see, immigra t ion pol ic ies seem to be par t icular ly sensitive to mainstream discourses captured i n the media and other external pressures - especial ly to what some observers have cal led the \" E U mandates\". In contrast, nat ionali ty and ci t izenship laws appear to be rather unruffled b y such earthly concerns. B o t h sources o f legis la t ion and po l i cy , immigra t ion and ci t izenship, have been subject to a very careful reading and d iscuss ion w i t h experts dur ing the field research i n Spain . T h e use o f of f ic ia l statistics, m e d i a analysis, and study o f of f ic ia l documents produced a large body o f informat ion relevant to the contextual izat ion and interpretation o f the po l i t i ca l integration o f Argent inean immigrants i n Spain . However , ethnographic fieldwork, comprised o f 32 interviews and informal observation (sometimes more part icipatory than others), has been the most important component o f the study. I a m w e l l aware o f the l imita t ions o f ethnography, and i n part icular o f interviews: the responses 28 m a y not be accurate, truthful, complete, or necessarily sincere ( O ' C o n n e l D a v i d s o n and Layder , 1994). Moreove r , the sample was not representative o f the broader Argent inean populat ion, and therefore the reader m a y question the poss ib i l i ty to generalize the f indings. I assume such l imita t ions and st i l l w o u l d argue that the interviewees ' discourses have been key to understanding the posi t ion o f Argentineans i n Spain . Indeed, the interviews were far r icher than any o f the other sources used here; their stories have informed every one o f the pages i n this thesis, even though this is not a lways e x p l i c i t l y acknowledged. F o r this study, I conducted 32 interviews: 25 wi th Argent inean immigrants , 3 w i t h representatives o f organizations advocat ing for the rights o f immigrants o f Spanish ancestry (not l imi t ed to, but dominated by, Argentineans) , 2 w i t h lawyers , 3 w i t h academics whose f ie ld o f expertise is related to the interests o f this thesis, and one interview w i t h a po l i ce off icer . 4 The interviews were conducted i n Spanish, the mother tongue o f a l l participants and the interviewer, and lasted anywhere between 45 minutes and five and a h a l f hours. A l l interviews were recorded and transcribed except two: i n one case the interviewee asked not to be recorded, and i n other case the informat ion was col lected v i a emai l . A l l the personal interviews were conducted i n Spa in i n p rov inces 5 w i t h a h igh number o f Argent inean immigrants (Barcelona, M a d r i d , M a l a g a and Grenada) between September and December 2006. The internet conversat ion lasted longer and went on between June 2006 and February 2007. Table 2.1 offers a summary o f the characteristics o f the immigrants who participated i n this study. The interviewees were selected through a snowbal l method w i t h 6 starting points: 18 o f them were contacted through personal and f a m i l y networks, and the remain ing 7 through relationships established dur ing fieldwork. Two interviews are counted twice: in one case the interviewee was an academic in the field of Latin American migration and an Argentinean immigrant herself; in the other case the interviewee was both the representative of an immigrant association and an Argentinean immigrant. The interviews (one per participant) covered their migration experience and their expert knowledge. 5The Spanish provinces are local juridical entities formed by the regional amalgamation of municipalities. Currently there are 50 provinces in Spain plus the territories of Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa, which enjoy a similar status but are formally known as \"plazas de soberania\" (literally \"posts of sovereignty\"). See following note on Autonomous Communities. 29 Sample - Argentineans Total Men Women Age group <40 ' 12 6 6 >40 13 6 7 Province of residence in Spain Catalonia 3 2 1 C. Madrid 5 2 3 Andalusia 16 8 8 Other 1 0 1 Period of emigration Dictatorship (mid 1970s) 4 3 1 Economic Crisis (1990s, 2000s) -21 9 12 Ancestry Spanish 17 8 9 Italian 16 9 7 Other 13 6 7 Education (finished) Secondary 11 5 6 Post-secondary 12 5 7 Not available 2 2 0 Employment in Spain Underemployed 14 6 8 Self-Employed / According to qualifications 9 6 3 Student 2 0 2 Legal Status Clandestine 5 2 3 Temporary Residency 6 3 3 Long-term residency (Regimen Comunitario) 0 0 0 E U Citizenship 14 7 7 Have ever been undocumented 13 6 7 Citizenship: method of acquisition Ius Sanguini, Italy 5 3 2 Ius Sanguini, Spain 5 1 4 Residence 4 3 1 Table 2.1: Characteristics of the immigrant sample. The characteristics of the sample are very close to those of the broader Argentinean population: both have a sex ratio of almost 1:1, all age groups are well represented, and there is a high concentration in three Autonomous Communities6 6 The Autonomous Communities are territorial entities within the Kingdom of Spain. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 recognizes legislative autonomy and a limited degree of executive and administrative freedom for the regions with historical, cultural, and economic shared 30 ( M a d r i d , Cata lonia , and Anda lus ia ) . The sample is consistent w i t h the argument that there is a h igh frequency o f Argent ineans who are or have been undocumented. Furthermore, the sample supports the observation that the w o r k i n g situation o f Argent ineans is quite precarious, especia l ly when compared to their re la t ively h igh educational level ( G i l Arau jo , 2005). T h e f ie ldwork also shed some light on areas that remained dark i n of f ic ia l statistics such as period and reason o f emigrat ion, ancestry and f ami ly networks, and the his tory o f legal status(es). O f special interest for the purposes o f this study were narratives o f be long ing to Spa in that were not necessari ly based i n b lood lineage but i n cultural and his tor ica l arguments. These narrations were often fo l lowed by just if ications o f feelings o f resentment or gratitude towards Spa in - sometimes towards specific pol i t ic ians w h o had promoted pol ic ies that benefited or hurt the interests o f the Argent inean co lony i n Spa in -and a pos i t ion ing o f the group and the ind iv idua l i n relat ion to other immigrant groups. Those w h o had a European passport (Spanish or Italian i n a l l cases) p rov ided detailed explanations o f the nat ional izat ion process; a l l reflected on the meanings and impl ica t ions o f the sanctioned recogni t ion as po l i t i ca l members o f the Spanish communi ty . The discourses were underpinned w i t h perceptions o f Spanish society marked w i t h tales o f Spanish-hood brought f rom Argen t ina and their o w n experiences as immigrants . T h e y usual ly negotiated their be longing i n relat ion to this imagined v i s i o n o f Spain . In most cases participants also expressed their discontent w i t h the w a y Argent ineans, as a popula t ion o f European descent, were treated i n Spanish immigra t i on and ci t izenship laws, and proposed alternative scenarios. Where immigrants related their l i v e d experiences, the \"experts\" 'elaborated on the appl ica t ion o f specif ic l aws ( in the fields o f immigra t ion and ci t izenship) that have regulated the entry, integration, and access to nat ionali ty o f Argent inean-born ind iv idua l s i n Spa in since 1985. N i n e experts were in terviewed for this study: two lawyers , three academics, a po l i ce officer, the director o f a re l igious organizat ion that gathers characteristics and for the insular territories. There are 17 Autonomous Communities in Spain. These territorial entities are similar to Canadian provinces, with the difference that they are not allowed to federate. 7 Interviewees were asked to provide the national origins of their great-grandparents and grandparents. 31 information on overseas migra t ion to Argen t ina at the turn o f the 20 1 century, and two representatives o f an organizat ion o f immigrants o f Spanish ancestry. T w o o f these experts were immigrants themselves (see footnote 4 i n chapter II). Four observations on these 32 interviews deserve a b r i e f reflection: the d i f f icul ty o f accessing some interviewees; the d iscovery o f an older and w e l l established group o f . Argent ineans who arr ived i n Spa in as a consequence o f V i d e l a ' s dictatorship i n the 1970s; the impact o f power relations i n the interviews; and the key role o f gender. W h e n I recently read K i m Eng land ' s comments about the di f f icul ty o f in te rv iewing elites, I felt I was i n good ( i f frustrated) company: some people just do not want to be interviewed. Eng land found infini te resistance on the part o f bank managers; I gave up on in te rv iewing pol i t ic ians . Pol i t ic ians , who o r ig ina l ly were go ing to be part o f the sample, demonstrated their s l ippery sk i l l s to avo id me dur ing four months o f phone calls and emails . T h e y never refused to meet w i t h me; instead, they kept pos tponing the appointment, and b y the end o f December a l l I had i n the recorder were a few conference interventions. P o l i c e officers were also hard to convince , but after p u l l i n g f a m i l y strings, several phone conversations, and two one-hour l ong meetings, I f ina l ly managed to interview one officer from the immigra t ion brigade. That in terview was def ini te ly a matter o f \"cont inual negotiat ion, bargaining and compromise\" (England, 2002, p. 207). T h e rest o f the interviewees posed no problems. O f the immigrants , on ly two decl ined to meet w i t h me; i n both cases they were undocumented. The bu lk o f the interviewees were part o f the economic migra t ion that arr ived i n Spa in since the late 1980s. Howeve r , i n the early stages o f the f ie ldwork I established contact w i t h some Argent inean refugees w h o had arr ived in Spa in i n the late 1970s. M y second interviewee introduced me to the his tory o f the Argent inean refugees and to the strength o f the social networks that had facili tated popula t ion exchanges between the two countries for most o f the 2 0 t h century. H e had been the p r imary contact for later migra t ion to Spain , offering his house, his business, and his personal contacts to help friends and f ami ly when the economic crises hit Argen t ina . I then decided to in terview more refugees, f ind ing their experiences a valuable point o f reference for m y understanding o f the integration o f the newer Argent inean immigrants f rom the late 1980s and early 2000s. M y a i m i n do ing so was not to represent the experiences o f Argent inean refugees o f 32 earlier decades, but to get a sense o f h o w the experience o f Argentineans who arr ived i n the country in a pre- immigra t ion and p r e - E U Spa in m a y have diverged from the experience o f the subsequent immigrants . A w a r e that four interviews w o u l d hardly serve this purpose I made intensive use o f other textual sources such as novels and-autobiographies . 8 1 owe a great deal to Margar i t a del O l m o for granting me a p r iv i l eged access to her w o r k on Argent inean refugees i n Spain , and especial ly to her book La Utopia en el Exilio ( \"Utop ia in E x i l e \" ) , a transcription o f eighteen interviews conducted i n the late 1980s w i t h Argent ineans who had emigrated to Spa in dur ing V i d e l a ' s dictatorship. In m y o w n interviews, a very important challenge soon emerged: power relations. T h e truth is that I am a woma n , I am short, and I look young. M o r e than a few interviewees were surprised when they heard that no, I was not wr i t i ng a paper for h i g h school - even though they had received a short descript ion o f m y research pr ior to the. in terview. T h i s happened more often when the participants were older men - especia l ly i f they were \"experts\" i n posi t ions o f power. A posi t ive consequence was that, since I was \"not an expert\" they felt their discourse had to be more detailed and direct - stereotypes and judgments emerged as straight as we l l - a imed arrows. In that sense the power dynamics were helpful instead o f constraining. However , the interviews w i t h the two Spanish lawyers and the pol ice officer (al l o f them men i n their fifties) were a real challenge and I found it diff icul t to contain m y frustration w i t h their extremely condescending attitudes. Together w i t h m y appearance and the sexist cultural context i n w h i c h the interviews took place, m y o w n attitude towards research m a y also be par t ia l ly responsible for that response on the part o f some interviewees. I do not feel comfortable i n the role o f the \"researcher as the omnipotent expert i n control o f both the passive researched and the research process.\" Instead, I share the v i e w that an interview is a \"co-authored conversat ion\" i n w h i c h the \"researcher and the researched are capable o f se l f - ref lexivi ty and engaging i n the self-conscious, cr i t ica l scrutiny o f their mul t ip le subject pos i t ions .\" (England , 2002, p . 209) T h e attempt to establish a \"reciprocal re la t ion\" seemed at odds w i t h the expectations o f some male , grey-haired interviewees, but however 8 Cortazar (1984) and Fainstein (2006). 33 uncomfortable these conversations were for me they y ie lded very interesting informat ion, as we w i l l see shortly, especial ly when the recorder was o f f and their tone softened. In a sharp contrast to that, many other participants, notably w o m e n , w a r m l y we lcomed the non- impos ing tone o f the interviews. It made me realize, first, that almost a l l the participants i n m y previous research had been men, and second, that gender matters. I was shocked b y the amount o f very personal, even intimate, informat ion that they wanted to share - and most interestingly, it a l l spoke direct ly to their migra t ion experiences and their integration into the rece iv ing society. M y deepest gratitude goes to these w o m e n (and some men), who decided to pour their l ives into the d igi ta l recorder. T h e y made m e real ize that sexuali ty and the many ways through w h i c h w e root our experiences i n this w o r l d through emotion and affection are key i n the study o f immigra t ion and ci t izenship. D u r i n g these interviews I have fu l ly understood the impl ica t ions o f feminist c la ims \"seeking reciprocal relationships based on empathy, mutual i ty and respect\" (England, 2002, p. 209). The interviews led to other k inds o f ethnographic work , carried out i n f ive m a i n settings: L a t i n dancing clubs where I interacted w i t h Argent inean immigrants i n their leisure t ime; spoken w o r d mus ic and story te l l ing shows i n an Argent inean coffee shop; a Ca tho l i c loca l church that helped immigrants o f a l l nationalities to f ind w o r k and provided the most needy ones w i t h food and clothes; an internet fo rum for grandchi ldren o f Spaniards (most ly Argentineans); and a few mornings spent at a po l i ce station. A t the same time that the interviews and the observation occurred, I had m a n y informal conversations w i t h Spaniards about immigra t ion - more spec i f ica l ly Argen t inean immigra t ion - that helped m e understand how this group (\"they\") was conce ived i n relationship to Spain (\"us\") and what the m a i n stereotypes and preconceptions are that underpin inter-group relations. The interviews and the f ie ldwork notes were transcribed and analyzed. F o l l o w i n g the recommendations o f more experienced researchers I decided not to use any software for the discourse analysis and instead proceeded w i t h manual coding , u s ing coloured penci ls and m u c h patience. In summary, the methods used i n this study are the result o f m y o w n understanding o f research and knowledge bu i ld ing . Starting w i t h the b e l i e f that fu l l object ivi ty is a non-achievable goal for the researcher as m u c h as it is for anybody else, I 34 adopt a f lex ib le and ref lexive research strategy to understand the integration o f Argent inean immigra t ion into the Spanish pol i t i ca l communi ty . In order to m i n i m i z e the biases introduced b y m y o w n subjectivity and the l imita t ions o f the available informat ion, the fieldwork compr ised a combina t ion o f sources, methods, and voices - a strategy c o m m o n l y referred to as tr iangulat ion. Howeve r , ethnographic sources (in-depth interviews and observation) have proved best suited to m y search for a ho l i s t ic and contextual approach to the study o f Argent inean integration into Spain. The f o l l o w i n g chapters offer an interpretation o f the informat ion that the f ie ldwork y ie lded and a i m to shed some light on the (evolv ing) place that Argent ineans have occupied i n Spanish pub l i c po l i cy , and the ways i n w h i c h Argent inean immigrants resist the current trends towards their ass imi la t ion into the general in f lows o f non-European immigra t ion . 35 CHAPTER III: WHEN THE NUMBERS SOAR: ARGENTINEAN IMMIGRATION IN CONTEXT. T h i s chapter is the first o f a series o f four that summarize the findings o f m y fieldwork i n Spain . In this chapter, I discuss the prof i le and evolu t ion o f the total immigrant popula t ion as w e l l as the L a t i n A m e r i c a n and the Argent inean immigrant communi t ies from 1985 to the present. T h i s w i l l include both a descript ive analysis o f the evolu t ion o f these groups over t ime, and a b r i e f h is tory o f the popula t ion exchanges between Argen t ina and Spain since the late 1 9 t h century. T h i s analysis should provide a basic framework for understanding the integration o f contemporary Argent inean immigra t ion into the Spanish pol i ty , w h i c h w i l l be discussed i n later chapters. T h e chapter is d iv ided i n two sections. The first section draws from off ic ia l databases to trace the evolut ion o f immigra t ion to 'Spain and sketches a prof i le o f the country 's foreign populat ion, pay ing special attention to La t ino immigrants . A n introduct ion to the m a i n sources o f statistical information and their l imi ta t ions precedes the b r i e f descript ive analysis. The second section focuses more spec i f ica l ly on Argent inean migra t ion to Spain . F o l l o w i n g a d iscuss ion o f the m a i n periods o f popula t ion exchange between Spa in and Argent ina , I draw from statistical databases to provide a snapshot o f the current Argent inean-born immigrant communi ty i n Spain . F O R E I G N POPULATION IN SPAIN: E V O L U T I O N AND P ROFILE . The variable qual i ty and l imi t ed timeframe o f the statistical sources present serious challenges for the elaboration o f a fu l ly rel iable profi le o f the immigran t popula t ion i n Spa in since 1985. T w o factors account for this: first, Spain ' s recent transit ion f rom a country o f emigrat ion to a country o f immigra t ion ; and second, a general reluctance on the part o f the government to acknowledge that immigra t ion is not a transitory phenomenon. H o w e v e r , the combined use o f three off ic ia l databases (the Annual Reports on Immigration, the M u n i c i p a l Registr ies, and the Natura l iza t ion records) a l lows us to 36 make some generalizations about the characteristics o f this immigrant popula t ion and its evolu t ion i n the last two decades. A D I F F I C U L T C O U N T : S T R E N G T H S A N D W E A K N E S S E S OF S T A T I S T I C A L D A T A B A S E S FOR T H E S T U D Y OF I M M I G R A T I O N IN S P A I N . M o s t o f the data used i n the next pages come from the Annual Report on Foreigners (re-titled Annual Report on Immigration i n 2004; herein the Report), w h i c h collects statistical informat ion on al l legal residents. T h e first o f these Reports was publ ished b y the M i n i s t r y o f Interior i n 1992. T h e Reports f rom 1992 to 1996 contained just a handful o f tables o f ve ry basic socio-demographic informat ion for the whole immigrant popula t ion - v i r tua l ly nothing there is useful for the study o f a specific group. Signif icant improvements have been introduced recently, par t icular ly since 2000, when the responsibi l i ty was passed to the M i n i s t r y o f Labour and Soc ia l Af fa i r s ( M T A S ) . Today , the Report is the most w i d e l y used source among immigra t ion scholars i n Spain . Recent releases have mainta ined and improved the or ig ina l tables w i t h basic socio-demographic data - now b y country o f o r ig in - w h i l e at the same t ime p rov id ing very detailed informat ion about immigran ts ' legal status (student, refugee, temporary resident, permanent resident, and recently naturalized), and the labour regime (wi th seasonal, temporary, or permanent w o r k permit; under general labour legis la t ion or E U labour legis la t ion; a l l d iv ided according to sector). T h e m a i n problems w i t h this source are its l imi ted timeframe (from 1992 to the present for the total immigrant popula t ion and from 1996 to the present for specif ic groups) and its lack o f representativeness: it o n l y provides informat ion about the foreign legal resident population. Undocumented migrants, naturalized foreigners, and a h igh percentage o f second-generation immigran t s 9 are not inc luded i n these data. A more representative picture o f the foreign popula t ion i n Spa in can be elaborated b y combin ing the Reports w i t h the M u n i c i p a l Registr ies col lected b y munic ipa l i t ies and assembled b y the N a t i o n a l Statistics Institute ( I N E ) . T h e M u n i c i p a l Registr ies produce 9 A s explained later (chapter IV) , whether the newborn receives the Spanish nationality or not depends on the parents' citizenship. 37 annual snapshots o f the populat ion l i v i n g i n Spain, regardless o f their nationali ty or legal status. A l t h o u g h this database has a long history, a new immigra t ion law passed i n 2000 created a crucia l l i n k between immigra t ion and the M u n i c i p a l Regis t ry . U n d e r the new law, newcomers are lega l ly required to register as inhabitants o f a mun ic ipa l i t y i n order to receive basic social services such as education and health care; also, registration is one o f the few v a l i d proofs o f residence for regularizat ion through extraordinary channels such as amnesties and arraigo10. The database is independent o f the State security forces; as such, the national or regional po l ice cannot access or use the informat ion p rov ided b y immigrants . M u n i c i p a l registries have shed some light on the extent and profi le o f undocumted popula t ion i n the country and helped i n the est imation o f their number, locat ion and place o f o r ig in . A l s o , the registry collects informat ion about immigran ts ' country o f bir th - not on ly their nationality. Despi te these benefits, the mun ic ipa l registry has some important restrictions. Firs t , it has a ve ry l im i t ed timeframe - the data are o n l y rel iable for the per iod from 2000 to 2006. Second, many immigrants are apprehensive about the consequences o f insc r ib ing themselves as inhabitants o f a munic ipa l i ty . Th i s became a real p rob lem i n 2003, when the conservative government reformed the exis t ing immigra t ion l aw and introduced important modif icat ions i n access to mun ic ipa l data for agencies o f the administrat ion and the po l i ce force. T h i s was declared unconsti tut ional and immedia te ly rejected (Pena O b i o l , 2005) - but the debate i n Parl iament had a strong impact among the already suspicious immigrant populat ion. The second l imi ta t ion is that immigrants have to inscribe themselves and renew their status as inhabitants o f the mun ic ipa l i t y every two years. It is not comple te ly certain that immigrants are aware o f this requirement -especia l ly i n the case o f recent clandestine immigrants . . F i n a l l y , for the purpose o f this thesis it is useful to combine informat ion f rom the Reports and the M u n i c i p a l Registries w i t h data from Natura l i za t ion records, col lected b y the M i n i s t r y o f Justice and publ ished b y the I N E and the M T A S . Because natural izat ion The figure of the arraigo (literally the act of \"taking roots\") provides an extra-ordinary channel for the regularization of clandestine immigrants. There are three kinds of arraigo recognized by the immigration law (social, work-related, and familial). Undocumented immigrants who can prove to have social, family, or work-related \"roots\" in Spain after a period of time (dependent upon the nationality of the immigrant) are allowed to claim a regularization of their status. 38 is a h i g h l y inst i tut ionalized process that usual ly happens once i n a l i fet ime, this source is fu l ly rel iable. Its m a i n shor tcoming is that there is no information about the profi le o f the people who apply for or obtain Spanish nationali ty other than their o r ig ina l country o f ci t izenship. The combined use o f these three databases yields a re la t ively satisfactory picture o f recent immigra t ion to Spain . In the next pages I w i l l draw from the most consistent source, the Reports (1996-2006), to study the evolu t ion and general profi le o f foreigners w i t h a residence/work permit . I w i l l b u i l d on the Reports us ing complementary informat ion from munic ipa l registries (2000-2006) and the Natura l iza t ion records (1985-2006). Later, I draw from the same sources to discuss s imilar i t ies and differences between the Argent inean-born and general immigrant populations. A WORLD IN TWENTY Y E A R S : SPAIN'S QUICK TRANSITION TO A C O U N T R Y OF IMMIGRATION A N D THE G R O W T H OF THE L A T I N O POPULATION. In 1971 there were 148,400 legal foreign residents i n Spain . T h i s meant that 0.4 percent o f the total legal popula t ion was foreign born. A s shown i n table 3.1, the percentage o f foreigners grew to 1.5 percent i n 1997 and has been increasing steadily since, reaching 6.3 percent at the last avai lable date, December 2005 ( O P I , 2006, #7). M o r e than 80 percent o f the growth o f the legal foreign populat ion has happened i n the last decade (1996-2006). Spanish Documented Percentage of Year Population Foreigners Foreigners 1996 39 617 477 538 984 1,4 1997 39 700 000 609 813 1,5 1998 39 852 651 719 647 1,8 1999 40 202 158 801 329 2,0 2000 40 499 790 895 720 2,2 2001 41 116 842 1 109 060 2,7 2002 40 847 371 1 324 001 3,2 2003 42 197 865 1 647 011 3,9 2004 42 931 288 1 977 291 4,6 2005 44 708 964 2 738 932 6,1 Table 3.1: Evolution of legal foreign population in relation to the Spanish population. Source: M T A S , 1996-2005; OPI, 2006 #7. 39 T h e explos ive growth o f immigra t ion i n Spain has triggered important changes in the compos i t ion o f the populat ion. A s shown i n graph 3.1, in a context o f l o w natural growth o f the Spanish populat ion, immigra t ion is today the m a i n factor for the country 's popula t ion growth. T h e increasing relevance o f immigrants ' fert i l i ty w i l l be br ie f ly discussed later in this chapter. Demographic Indicators, 1991-2005 3000000 n m m ^ g H ^ ^ H ^ H g B j n i M m g ^ ^ ^ ^ H H B B a H B H g g B ^ ^ K 1500000 1000000 500000 A 0 \"I = ^ = ^ = , , , , , 1 ,' , , '- i , , 1991 1992 199.* 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 ^1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Graph 3.1 Demographic Indicators: births, deaths, natural growth, and immigration in Spain, 1991-2005. Source: INE and M T A S , 1991-2005. The immigran t popula t ion is larger, and also more internal ly diverse than it was ten years ago. T h e trend towards divers i f icat ion - i n terms o f countries o f o r ig in - began after the regular izat ion o f 1991, when the inf lows f rom deve lop ing countries started substituting for, and later outnumbering, those f rom developed countries ( G i l Arau jo , 2005). Thus , w h i l e i n 1997 a l l but one (Moroccans) o f the top-five nationalit ies were part o f the European E c o n o m i c A r e a 1 1 ( E E A ) , seven years later this pattern has reversed: i n \" The E E A is the result o f an agreement between the 27 countries of the E U plus three o f the four members of the European Free Trade Association ( E F T A ; Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein). 40 2004 o n l y the U K remained among the five countries w i t h the highest number o f nationals l i v i n g i n Spanish territory w i t h a residence permit; the other four were M o r o c c o , Ecuador , C o l o m b i a , and R o m a n i a . Table 3.2 shows the evolut ion o f the largest ten immigrant groups i n 2005 for the per iod between 1997 and 2005. T h e groups that were not among the 2005 top ten at the t ime o f each count are marked w i t h an asterisk to highl ight their spectacular growth. Country/ Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001A 2002A 2003 2004 2005A Morocco 111 100 140 896 161 870 199 782 234 937 282 432 333 770 386 958 493 114 Ecuador 4 112* 7 046* 12 933* 30 878 84 699 115 301 174 289 221 549 357 065 Colombia 8 412* 10412* 13 627* 24 702* 48 710 71 238 107 459 137 369 204 384 Romania 2 385* 2 385* . 5 082* 10 983* 24 856* 33 705* 54 688 83 372 192 134 UK 68 271 74419 76 402 73 983 80 183 90 091 105 479 128 283 149 071 Italy 22 638 26 514 29 871 30 862 35 647 45 236 59 745 72 032 • 84 853 Peru 21 233 24 879 27 263 27 888 33 758 39013 57 593 71 245' 82 533 Argentina 17 188 17 007 16 296* 16610* 20412* 27 937* 43 347* 56 193 82412 Germany 49 890 58 089 60 828 60 575 62 506 65 823 67 963 69 719 71 513 Portugal 38 229 42 310 44 038 41 997 42 634 43 309 45 614* 50 955* 59 787 Total 609 813 719 647 801329 895 720 1 109 060 1 324 001 1 647 011 1 977 291 2 738 932 Table 3.2: Evolution of the top ten nationalities in 2005 (1997-2005). Amnesties to regularize undocumented immigrants were applied the years marked with an A . Source: M T A S (1997-2004); OPI #10 (2006). The evolu t ion o f these ten groups shows that the compos i t ion o f the immigrant popula t ion has changed drast ical ly i n the last ten years: three o f the four largest immigrant groups i n the last Report were rather smal l un t i l 2000 (Ecuador, C o l o m b i a , and R o m a n i a , marked wi th an asterisk). M o r e o v e r , at the same t ime that the number o f nationalit ies w i t h more than a thousand residents has increased, the largest growth has occurred among the top f ive national groups (at the t ime o f each count), w h i c h accounted for 32 percent o f the total immigrant populat ion i n 1997 and more than 80 percent i n 2005 ( M T A S , 1998; O P I , 2006, #10). The rapid growth o f these groups suggests that there are strong national networks support ing further immigra t ion . The agreement was signed in 1994 to allow E F T A nations-states and their citizens to participate in the European market. The E U has signed similar bilateral agreements with the fourth member of the E F T A , Switzerland. Nationals from these countries enjoy most benefits of E U citizenship, including the waiver o f visas to enter, stay, and work in other countries of the E U . 41 Table 3.3 shows the evolution of immigration by continent from 1997 to 2001. The main observation is the rapid growth of immigration from Ibero America: this group accounted for less than 19 percent of the total population in 1997; in 2005, 36 percent of the foreigners with a residence permit were Latinos (MTAS, 1997; OPI, 2006, #7). Africans (23.7 percent), EEA citizens, (20.8 percent) and other Europeans (13.3 percent) followed. Continent / Year 1992 1997 2001 2005 Total % Total % Total % Total % Europe13 196 984 50,1 289 084 47,4 412 522 37,2 906 461 33,1 America 89 300 22,7 126 959 20,8 298 798 26,9 1 003 230 36,6 * Ibero America n/a n/a 112 064 18,4 283 778 25,6 986 178 36,0 Africa 71 292 18,1 142 816 23,4 304 149 27,4 649 251 23,7 Asia 33 878 8,6 49 110 8,1 91 552 8,3 177 423 6,5 Australasia 736 0,2 888 0,1 944 0,1 1 466 0,1 Stateless/NA 910 0,2 956 0,2 1095 0,1 1 101 0,0 Total Foreign 393 100 100,0 609 813 118,4 1 109 060 125,6 2 738 932 136,0 Table 3.3: Foreign legal population by continent of origin, by year (1992, 1997, 2001, 2005). Source: MTAS (1992-2004). The Latin American immigrant population was the fastest growing and by far largest group by the end of 2005. While the population of foreign legal residents grew 213.6 percent between 1997 and 2005 (from 609,813 to 2,273,932), the Latin American population grew 780 percent (from 112,064 to 986,178). From 2004 to 2005 alone, the population of Latin American legal residents grew 52 percent14 (from 649,112 in 2004 to 1 2 The category \"Ibero America\" is widely used in Spanish-speaking countries, although it does not seem to have been adopted in the Anglophone world. The term designates the countries of the Iberian Peninsula (Andorra, Portugal, and Spain) plus the areas of the American continent that were under their rule in colonial times. Due to the highly politicized implications of the term (discussed in chapter V) and the fact that the term is not used in North America, from now in my discourse on I will instead refer to this group as \"Latin Americans\". The term \"Ibero America\" will appear in tables based on official data. 1 3 Includes all European countries, EU as well as non-EU members. 1 4 The growth of this regional group came second after that of non-EC Europeans (99.6 percent); however the former group was very small in 2004. The 2005 amnesty, which regularized almost 600,000 undocumented immigrants, was a decisive ingredient in these increases. 42 986,178 i n late 2005). Tables 3.2 and 3.3 highl ight the reconfigurat ion o f the immigrant popula t ion i n Spain from a group largely dominated b y Europeans in 1996 to one w i t h a strong La t ino component today. Y e t these figures underestimate the real growth o f the L a t i n A m e r i c a n communi ty i n Spain , as undocumented migrants, naturalized foreigners, and most second-generation immigrants - a l l large groups w i t h i n the L a t i n A m e r i c a n popula t ion - are not inc luded i n the Reports. Regard ing the age distr ibution o f the legal foreign populat ion, for the per iod between 1998 and 2004 the group o f w o r k i n g age (16 to 64) was overrepresented compared to the loca l populat ion: 81.3 percent among foreigners and 67.5 percent among Spaniards. The proport ion o f this particular age group, however , varies for each o f the regional clusters: among E E A nationals the figure remained steadily under 78 percent, w h i l e almost 87 percent o f L a t i n Amer i cans were part o f this age group. The rest o f the immigrant groups were somewhere in between. N o t on ly is this figure h igh , but also the trend since 1996 is towards a slight increase o f the propor t ion o f foreigners o f w o r k i n g age. A l t h o u g h this overrepresentation o f the w o r k i n g age group cou ld be interpreted as characteristic o f recent f lows o f economic immigra t ion , the abi l i ty o f those w i t h L a t i n A m e r i c a n passports (more than one-third o f legal residents) to apply for Spanish ci t izenship i n one or two years has the potential to skew the statistics: were their c la ims accepted, these immigrants w o u l d vanish from the off ic ia l immigra t ion statistics w i t h i n two years, l eav ing on ly the most recent members o f the group to be shown. The disappearance o f Spanish-born second-generation immigrants also contributes to the overrepresentation o f working-age indiv iduals among immigrants - especial ly among those o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n o r i g i n . 1 5 A s for the sex ratios, since the beg inn ing o f the immigra t i on per iod w o m e n have been s l igh t ly underrepresented, compr i s ing about 46 percent o f the foreign popula t ion between 1996 and 2006. T h i s tendency is consistent across regional groups, but there is substantive variat ion between national groups: the lowest female representation is among M a l i legal residents (12.3 percent), and the highest is among T h a i legal residents (80.4 percent; M T A S 2004). O n average, the most balanced group is that o f E E A residents 5 The implications of privileged paths towards political citizenship for second-generation Latin American immigrants will be explored in chapter IV. 43 (wi th almost 48 percent o f w o m e n between 2001 and 2004). La t i n A m e r i c a n residents have seen the gradual de-feminizat ion o f their populat ion between 1999 (63.6 percent) and 2004 (54.6 percent). These trends point towards a gendered labour market (wi th a strong demand for female La t ino workers) where w o m e n act as pioneers i n the immigra t ion market, and a tendency to f ami ly migra t ion often through r eun i f i ca t ion 1 6 (see for example Izquierdo 2005; M a r t i n Bujan , 2003; Pujadas and M a s s a l , 2002; C o l e c t i v o I O E , 2001). The educational levels o f the immigrant popula t ion vary h i g h l y b y national group. In their study o f the data provided b y the A c t i v e Popula t ion Survey ( E P A ) , Gar r ido and Tohar i a (2004) h ighl ighted the fact that a l l immigran t groups b y region had an average educational l eve l h igher than that o f Spaniards, w i t h the exception o f A f r i c a n immigrants . E E A foreigners have the highest percentage o f populat ion w i t h univers i ty education (35.8 percent o f the total). O f n o n - E E A cit izens, L a t i n Amer i cans are the group w i t h the highest education l eve l : almost 55 percent o f these foreigners have at least secondary degrees. 1 7 M o r e o v e r , i n 2004 76.5 percent o f the successful c la ims for the recogni t ion o f univers i ty degrees b y non-Spaniards were awarded to La t i n A m e r i c a n ci t izens, most o f them (72.4 percent) r ecogn iz ing titles o f Bache lo r , Engineer , or Arch i t ec t ( M T A S , 2004). S t i l l , the socia l integration o f these immigrants is p rov ing a chal lenging task, par t ia l ly because o f the characteristics o f the Spanish economy. A s Perez D i a z (2002) notes, the m a i n trait o f the Spanish labour market is its segmentation, w i t h a large and precarious secondary sector characterized b y short-term contracts and l o w wages. T h e large underground economy, said to account for 20 to 24 percent o f the Gross Na t iona l Product (Frey and Schneider, 2000), has contributed to the development o f this secondary 18 sector, where m u c h o f the immigrant popula t ion, documented or not, has found a spot. 1 6 30 percent o f non-EU immigrants who have settled in Spain since 2003 benefited from family reunification measures (Barbulo, 3/15/2007). 1 7 H igh school diploma or higher. 1 8 Researchers at the Colectivo Ioe (2005) estimated that more than 30 percent of the immigrants were employed under the table in 2005. The highest percentage of informal employment that year was believed to be for Argentineans (78.7 percent). 44 T h i s part ia l ly explains the l i t t le impact that immigrants ' higher academic achievement seems to have on their integration into the Spanish labour market. The i r part icipat ion i n the national economy is significant: i n 2005, 8.3 percent o f the emp loyees 1 9 were foreigners (74.5 percent men) and L a t i n A m e r i c a n workers alone constituted more than 40 percent o f the foreign legal w o r k i n g populat ion. Howeve r , immigran ts ' h igh employment rate contrasts w i t h the condit ions in w h i c h they work . M a k i n g a l ong story short, their contracts are often short-term (59.9 percent for the w o m e n and 70 percent for men), part-time (36.2 percent o f w o m e n and 11.4 percent o f men), and largely for unqual i f ied occupations ( M T A S , 2005) Y e t the condit ions for immigran ts ' part icipat ion i n the Spanish labour market seem to have improved i n recent years; researchers from the Co lec t i vo I O E (2003) observed that there has been a d ivers i f ica t ion o f immigran ts ' occupations f rom the tradit ional niches (agriculture, restoration, construction, and domestic work) to industr ial activit ies and the service sector. T h e settlement pattern o f the foreign popula t ion i n Spain , i l lustrated i n maps 3.1 and 3.2, supports the argument that immigrants are concentrated in the aforementioned economic sectors. In these maps a l l foreign-born ind iv idua ls registered as inhabitants i n the M u n i c i p a l registries are considered regardless o f their legal status. T h e areas w i t h higher concentration o f foreign-born popula t ion correspond to those provincias where agriculture, construction, and services are the most prevalent economic sectors. M o r e o v e r , there was not m u c h change between 1996 (map 3.1) and 2006 (map 3.2): dur ing this per iod the concentration o f foreign-born popula t ion remained i n the same areas, m a i n l y the two biggest cities ( M a d r i d and Barcelona) and the coastal areas. T h e m a i n change is the increase o f provincias w i t h a h i g h concentration o f fore ign-bom indiv idua ls (more than 2 percent). B u t far f rom redistr ibuting across the national territory, what we are wi tness ing is the greater concentration o f immigrants i n the tradit ional areas o f attraction ( M a d r i d , Barce lona , Valencia, M u r c i a , and the Ba lea r i c Islands). 1 9 These data only include workers'with a legal contract. There are no reliable data for Spanish and foreign workers in the informal economy. 45 Map 3.1: Distribution of the total foreign-born population in Spain, 1996 (quintiles) Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica. Map 3.2: Distribution of the total foreign-born population in Spain, 2006 (quintiles) Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica. 46 COUNTING THE INVISIBLE PEOPLE: UNDOCUMENTED. N A T U R A L I Z E D , A N D SECOND-GENERATION IMMIGRANTS. A s p rev ious ly noted, there are three large groups absent from this b r i e f profde sketched so far: undocumented migrants, naturalized foreigners, and second-generation immigrants born Spanish under the pr inc ip le o f ius soli (attribution o f nat ionali ty b y bir th w i t h i n the national territory). Estimates about the v o l u m e o f clandestine foreign popula t ion vary, and profiles exist on ly for specif ic national,groups. C o m p a r i n g the data o f the A n n u a l Reports ( M T A S ) to the M u n i c i p a l Registr ies ( I N E ) , A n t o n i o Izquierdo estimated that i n 2002, 44 percent o f the foreigners lacked proper documentat ion (Izquierdo, 2004, p. 52). Af te r the 2005 amnesty - w h i c h a l lowed access to regular status for 577,049 undocumented immigrants (OPI , 2006, #7) - the gap between the two databases ( M T A S and I N E ) was o f almost one m i l l i o n immigran t s . 2 0 F o r that year the groups w i t h the highest rates o f undocumented immigrants were M o r o c c a n s (511,294), Ecuador ians , (497,799), and Romanians (317,366). N o t e that i n the last two cases the number o f undocumented migrants is higher than the number o f legal residents (357,065 Ecuador ians and 192,134 Romanians) . L a t i n A m e r i c a n s as a group account for a large por t ion o f clandestine immigrants albeit, according to the studies that have been done for specif ic national groups, these immigrants seem to manage to regularize their si tuation w i t h i n a few years. F o r example, research sponsored by the C o l o m b i a n Embassy i n Spa in concluded that 50.3 percent o f Co lombians l i v i n g i n Spa in i n 2001 were undocumented. T h e correlat ion between irregulari ty and t ime o f residence i n the country was extremely h igh : 80 percent o f those who had arr ived i n the country w i t h i n the previous year were irregular, w h i l e o n l y 3 percent o f the immigrants w h o had been l i v i n g i n Spa in for 5 years or longer were i n the same situation; the rest had i n one w a y or another obtained proper 2 0 According to the 2005 Annual Report (MTAS), there were 2,738,932 legal foreign residents, while for, the same date the Municipal Registry (INE) recorded a figure of 3,730,610 foreigners living in the national territory. It is worth noting that INE's figures are believed to be an underestimation of the real number of immigrants for the reasons explained above. 47 permits to stay i n the country. ( A p a r i c i o and G i m e n e z , 2002). Studies done for other L a t i n populations have produced s imi la r f indings. O n c e foreigners are documented, the paths towards legal c i t izenship are h igh ly dependent on their nationali ty: immigrants are required to reside legal ly and without interruption in the country for one year i f they have first- or second-degree Spanish ancestry, two years i f they are L a t i n Amer i can -bo rn nationals, 5 years i f they have refugee status, and ten years i n the remain ing cases. 2 1 O n c e they naturalize as Spaniards they disappear from the Immigra t ion Reports - but h o w many are there? A l l w e k n o w is the vo lume , evolut ion, and national o r ig in o f the natural ized immigrants . Graph 3.2 shows the evolut ion o f foreigners ' naturalizations per year f rom 1960 to 2005. In absolute terms, naturalizations remained stable through the 1980s, w i t h an average o f s l igh t ly over five thousand per year. In 1997 the number o f naturalizations broke the ten thousand mark, and since then the increase has been exponential ( M T A S , 2001-2005). S ince the beg inn ing o f the immigra t ion era, L a t i n Amer i cans have accounted for about 60 percent o f the naturalizations, a percentage that peaked i n 2005 (74 percent or 31 727 o f 42 829). 45000 n Graph 3.2: Naturalizations of foreigners in Spain, 1960-2004. Prior to 1990 (marked with a vertical line) the figures are provided every five years. Source: M T A S (2001-2005). 2 1 The differentiated pathways to citizenship and their implications for the Argentinean population will be explored in chapters IV and VI. 48 F i n a l l y , the group o f second-generation, Spanish-born chi ldren o f immigrants is also g rowing . Spanish law attributes the nat ionali ty to the newborn on the base o f the parents' nat ional i ty o f o r ig in . Regardless o f their c i t izenship at bir th, the percentage o f births to foreign parent(s) has increased rapidly between 1996 (4.5 percent o f total births) and 2004 (16.2 percent). In 2006, 38.5 percent o f those births were to L a t i n A m e r i c a n parent(s). Cons ide r ing Spanish legis lat ion on the issue, we can conclude that a large majori ty o f second-generation Lat ino immigrants are born Spanish or acquire the c i t izenship at an early age ( A u r e l i a A l v a r e z , 2005). In summary, immigra t i on is a recent phenomenon i n Spain , w i t h the bu lk o f immigrants h a v i n g arr ived i n the country i n the last decade. Curren t ly this popula t ion is mos t ly from n o n - E E A countries and its profi le corresponds to that o f economic migrants, w i t h an overrepresentation o f w o r k i n g age ind iv idua l s and sex ratios that reflect the demands o f the domestic labour market. These workers tend to be employed i n tradit ional immigrant niches (domestic work , construction, and hospi tal i ty sectors), al though there are signs that this is changing i n recent years. T h e geographic dis t r ibut ion o f immigra t ion throughout the country further supports both the hypothesis that this is mos t ly an economic immig ra t i on and that immigrant employment i n Spa in i s quite l im i t ed to certain occupations. Despi te several amnesties (1986, 1991, 1996, 2001/2002, and 2005) and the efforts devoted to the control o f borders, undocumented, migrants continue to represent a h igh share o f the total foreign populat ion. Na tura l i zed and second-generation immigrants account for a g r o w i n g percentage o f the immigrant popula t ion, although the data p rov ided b y Spanish agencies make it very diff icul t to establish a detailed profi le o f these groups. L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigra t ion is w e l l represented among the undocumented, the naturalized, and the Spanish-born second generation. L a t i n A m e r i c a n s are the fastest g r o w i n g and currently the largest immigran t group i n Spain . U n l i k e the rest o f the immigrant groups, w o m e n represent a major i ty o f the popula t ion . T h e educational level o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n s is higher than the average for the total popula t ion o f n o n - E E A immigrants , but less than that o f E E A . ci t izens. Despi te this, 49 their insert ion into the Spanish labour market differs l i t t le from other immigrant groups, w i t h higher rates o f employment in the tradit ional immigrant niches o f domestic service (26.2 percent), hospital i ty (16.1 percent), and construct ion (15.9 percent) (Garr ido and Tohar ia , 2004). H I S T O R Y I N A N U T S H E L L : P O P U L A T I O N E X C H A N G E S B E T W E E N A R G E N T I N A A N D S P A I N . T h e his tory o f popula t ion exchanges between Spa in and Argen t ina is a long-las t ing one, w i t h three m a i n landmarks: the European mass migrat ions o f the late 1 9 t h century and early 2 0 t h century; the escape from the po l i t i ca l repression i n Argen t ina i n the late 1970s; and the economic mass-migrat ions o f the late 1980s and early 2000s. The cont inui ty o f these popula t ion exchanges supports the argument that there is a \"migra tory system\" ( K r i t z et al., 1992) between the two countries, part o f a larger migratory system that connects L a t i n A m e r i c a and Europe . \" M A K I N G THE A MERICAS \" : SPANISH OVERSEAS M A S S M IGRATIONS The mass migra t ion o f Spaniards to Argen t ina was a process that extended f rom 1850 to 1970, reaching its peak i n 1905-1909 (Esteban, 2003). T h i s was par t ia l ly a result o f the poverty and the po l i t i ca l si tuation i n Spa in at the t ime, and par t ia l ly a consequence o f the p ro- immigra t ion po l ic ies o f the Argen t inean governments at the t ime, who promoted the immigra t ion o f Europeans i n order to populate and develop the country. The origins o f these immigrants were diverse, al though for the who le per iod two groups stand out: Spaniards and Italians constituted about one m i l l i o n people each i n Argen t ina b y 1914 (Esteban, 2003), w h i l e other national and ethnic groups that contributed s ignif icant ly to the demographic growth o f Argen t ina inc luded Jews, Russians, and Poles . D u r i n g the mass migra t ion stage more than f ive m i l l i o n people left Spain (Nunez Seixas, 2002). T h e y were mos t ly peasants, w i t h l o w education and a reputation for b e i n g hard-workers. Once i n Argen t ina they found jobs as farmers (54 percent in 1914), artisans (7 percent), sma l l entrepreneurs (4.8 percent), and other mos t ly non-qual i f ied 50 occupations (Esteban, 2003). The f lows to Argen t ina were so intense and continuous that the marine companies started assigning high-capaci ty boats devoted to the V i g o / A C o r u i i a - Buenos A i r e s passage. T h e extent and t i m i n g o f Spanish emigra t ion is easier to grasp i n graph 3.3, w h i c h collects information on the f lows to A m e r i c a (dark l ine) and Europe (l ight l ine) on a year ly basis between 1881 and 2001. E V O L U C I O N D E L A E M I G R A T I O N 1880-2001 E U R O P A — AMERICA 1905 1925 1945 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2001 Graph 3.3: Evolution o f Spanish emigration to America and Europe 1885-2001 (in thousands). Source: http://www.ciudadaniaexterior.mtas.es/estadisticas.htm The impact o f such emigrat ion f lows was immense for some regions, and their consequences can be felt to this day. The emigrat ion o f people from G a l i c i a - the A u t o n o m o u s C o m m u n i t y 2 2 that occupies the N o r t h Western tip o f the Iberian Peninsula -was so intense that Spaniards came to be k n o w n as \" G a l l e g o s \" i n Argen t ina ; G a l i c i a , i n turn, constructed its national identity as a \" land o f emigrants\". T h i s is no exaggeration consider ing that today, decades after the mass migrat ions, some districts have more than 30 percent o f their voters abroad, res iding mos t ly i n Argen t ina and Uruguay ( I N E , 2006). Other poor regions such as Astur ias , A n d a l u s i a , and the Basque Coun t ry also sent significant numbers o f emigrants overseas dur ing the late 1 9 t h and early 2 0 t h centuries \"to make the A m e r i c a s \" i n t imes o f economic hardship. 22 For an explanation of the term \"Comunidad Autonoma\" see footnote 6 in chapter II. 51 After decades o f continuous populat ion f lows, Spanish emigrat ion to Argen t ina came to a halt around 1965. T h i s was p r inc ipa l ly because o f the demand for an industr ial workforce i n the b o o m i n g economies o f Western and Central Europe at that t ime: i n the 1960s Spa in signed agreements to provide temporary workers to France, Germany , and Swi tzer land. Y e t the demographic and s y m b o l i c impr in t o f centuries o f emigrat ion to the N e w W o r l d d i d not disappear w i th the shift ing o f the emigrat ion f lows. A s we w i l l see i n f o l l o w i n g chapters, the experience o f the mass migrat ions to Argen t ina created a framework o f reference for inter-group and inter-personal relationships i n Spain . L E A V I N G IN A H U R R Y : THE A R R I V A L OF POLITICAL REFUGEES IN THE 1970S The first wave o f \"reverse mig ra t ion\" from Argen t ina to Spa in were people who fled po l i t i ca l repression under the government o f M a r i a Este la Mar t i nez (\"Isabelita\", 1974-1976) and the succeeding mi l i t a ry dictatorship o f Jorge Rafae l V i d e l a (1976-1983). T h e y were not the first ones to leave Argen t ina for po l i t i ca l reasons: the per iod k n o w n as the \"Argent inean R e v o l u t i o n \" (1966-1972) saw the emigrat ion o f a large number o f intellectuals to developed countries, m a i n l y the U n i t e d States, France, and Great Br i t a in . The end o f Franco ' s dictatorship i n N o v e m b e r 1975 placed Spain on the map o f possible destinations for those who wanted or were forced to leave Argent ina . T h e f low o f po l i t i ca l refugees to Spa in (often without the corresponding off ic ia l status) started s l o w l y i n 1976, reaching its peak i n 1979. A p p r o x i m a t e l y 20,000 ind iv idua ls migrated to Spa in w i t h Argent inean passports between 1976 and 1983 (Ac t i s and Esteban, forthcoming). These pioneers contributed to m a k i n g the Argent inean commun i ty one o f the oldest immigrant groups i n Spain . Spa in became one o f the top destinations for Argent inean exiles dur ing V i d e l a ' s regime for several reasons: exis t ing f ami ly networks; the poss ib i l i ty o f entering the country as a refugee; established migra t ion f lows to certain - more developed - regions such as Cata lonia ; the difficult ies that some exiles experienced i n adapting to other European countries; and the perceived p r o x i m i t y to their culture o f o r ig in . There is no of f ic ia l informat ion on h o w many o f these immigrants were returning Spaniards or whether or not they had socia l networks to re ly on through the process o f immigra t ion . 52 However, both my findings and Margarita del Olmo's point towards the existence of dormant social and family networks in Spain - a result of previous Spanish migration to Argentina - that were activated after their usually unplanned arrival to Spain, with uneven results. 2 3 Several interviewees also mentioned that the generation of political refugees that arrived in Spain in the 1970s never thought they would be interested in emigrating - least of all to Spain, a backwards and poor country compared with Argentina. Therefore, most of the.exiles arrived in Spain as tourists and overstayed their visas (Actis and Esteban, forthcoming; more evidence found in Margarita del Olmo, 2001, interviews). The profile of the Argentinean immigration that arrived at the time was quite heterogeneous, although the percentage of intellectuals, university students, political activists, journalists, and skilled professionals was very high (Mira Del l i Zotti and Esteban, 2003). The age distribution for the Argentineans who arrived during Videla 's dictatorship was markedly different from the one that was to come two decades later, with a considerable proportion of those arriving being over 45 (29.8 percent; Actis and Esteban, forthcoming). Despite the high socio-economic profile of this group, their integration was not easy: Spain was going through an economic crisis at the time, and as a consequence, many exiles, forced to take jobs as domestic workers, street vendors, etc. experienced severe de-skill ing (Margarita del Olmo, 2002; M i ra Del l i Zotti and Esteban, 2003; interviews). However, there was also a group of Argentineans who left the country in this period looking for better professional opportunities and did well - as is particularly the case for dentists and psychoanalysts who found a niche in the Spanish labour market. Although some of the exiles and the professionals returned to Argentina when the dictatorship ended in 1983, the majority remained in Spain. The researchers from the Colectivo IOE stated that: Some informants mentioned bringing little packages of reference letters in which their relatives and friends asked cousins, aunts, and even priests to help the exiles in such difficult moments. Most of such letters were never used, or were not accepted by the addressees who often had never met the referee personally. 53 Despi te the o r ig in o f this communi ty as a result o f the expuls ion o f po l i t i ca l dissidents b y the dictatorship, the end [of the dictatorship] i n 1983 has not caused a strong return. Instead, the scarce return o f Argent ineans to their country o f o r ig in could be described as a ' \" l eak ing\" o f repatriations, fo l lowed , i n many cases, b y a second return to Spa in as a consequence o f the severe economic situation i n Argen t ina . (Co lec t ivo I O E , 1987, p. 137-139; author's translation) HYPERINFLATION A N D THE \"CORRALITO\" : ECONOMIC MIGRATIONS IN THE 1990s A N D THE 2000s. Esteban argues that economic migra t ion from Argen t ina to Spain is a long-standing phenomenon cover ing three periods: the first extends from the 1950s to 1980; the second developed around the hyperinf la t ionary crisis o f the late 1980s; and the most recent one was a direct consequence o f the economic cris is that peaked i n late 2001 ( A c t i s and . Esteban, for thcoming; Esteban, 2003; Esteban and M i r a D e l l i - Z o t t i , 2003). A s w e have seen i n the previous section, some o f the Argentineans who arr ived i n Spa in dur ing the dictatorship were i n fact economic migrants w i t h h igh academic sk i l l s , l o o k i n g for better work opportunities. E c o n o m i c migra t ion dur ing this per iod was a very selective process usual ly l imi t ed to professionals w h o possessed sk i l l s i n strong demand i n the Spanish labour market. These immigrants were mos t ly o f middle-c lass , urban or ig in , and settled i n the large urban centres ( M a d r i d and Barcelona) . Argent ineans \"often appeared i n the loca l imaginary as non- immigrants due to their \"European\" characteristics\", usua l ly supported b y [a European passport], their class or ig ins , and the c o m m o n language\" (Sarrible Pedroni , 2000; author's translation). T h e i n i t i a l l y h igh qualif icat ions o f Argent inean immigrants decreased dur ing the 1980s. B y the end o f this decade the hyperinf la t ionary process (1989-1990) triggered the first mass migra t ion to Spa in (Ac t i s and Esteban, forthcoming). T h e m i d d l e classes, f ind ing l i t t le or no professional opportunities i n Argen t ina , made up an important part o f this f low. A s a strong economy w i t h i n the E U , Spa in emerged as an attractive destination for these migrants. A c t i s and Esteban (forthcoming) observe that the f lows i n the per iod between 1988 and 1992 were largely male , and that the academic qual if icat ions o f the immigrants were s ignif icant ly l ower than those o f their predecessors. H o w e v e r , the occupations that they found in. Spa in were m u c h better than other immigran t groups, w i t h 54 fewer workers employed in agriculture than the total n o n - E U immigrant populat ion, more workers i n professional and technical occupations, and fewer workers in l o w - l e v e l services than was the case for other L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrants (Ac t i s and Esteban, for thcoming; Sarr ible Pedron i , 2000). The geographical distr ibution o f this group o f economic migrants also differed from that o f previous years, w i th a stronger preference for coastal urban areas (the archipelagos, M a l a g a , and Al ican te ) . The f low o f Argent inean immigrants to Spa in came to a halt around 1995; i n fact, the number o f Argent inean residents i n Spa in d imin ished by 73 percent between 1993 and 2000 ( M T A S , 1993-1999). A l t h o u g h the natural izat ion o f some long-term residents par t ia l ly explains this, the figures point to a significant decrease in the exis t ing immigra t ion f lows f rom Argent ina . T h i s decl ine was a response to the temporary s tabi l izat ion o f the Argent inean economy, a result o f the neol iberal izat ion project that proved catastrophic a few years later. T h i s neol ibera l iza t ion caused the gradual pauperizat ion o f the m i d d l e and w o r k i n g classes - k n o w n as the \"new poor\"—and eventually the collapse o f the Argent inean economy, also k n o w n as the \"corra l i to\" . T h e term \"cor ra l i to\" is used to refer to the events that happened i n December 2001 , and more speci f ica l ly , to a p o l i c y that l imi ted the amount o f money that ci t izens cou ld wi thdraw f rom their banks, w h i c h left some i n total bankruptcy. The failure o f the neoliberal project triggered the largest mass emigrat ion o f Argentineans i n history. T h e crisis affected a l l classes o f the social spectrum. Esteban (2003) uses three indicators to expla in the worsening economic situation for the midd le and w o r k i n g classes i n Argen t ina between 1976 and 2002: the evolut ion i n the dis tr ibut ion o f income, w i t h the third quint i le (middle income) dec l in ing almost 3 percent dur ing this per iod (from 16.2 to 13.4 percent o f the populat ion) and the fifth quint i le (lowest income) increasing more than 6 percent (from 42.8 to 49.2 percent); higher unemployment (21.5 percent i n M a y 2002) and underemployment (about 20 percent); and the evolut ion o f relative poverty, w h i c h peaked i n 2002 (affecting more than 50 percent o f the population). T h i s means that the poorer groups became larger at the expense m a i n l y o f the midd le classes, and that absolute and relat ive pover ty reached unprecedented levels w i t h i n a short per iod o f t ime. T h e 2001 col lapse hit hardest those who were already vulnerable, and was especia l ly pronounced i n the large cit ies. Those w h o cou ld leave, d id . Spa in became a favourite 55 destination o f emigrants for various reasons, m a i n l y the cultural p r o x i m i t y o f Spanish society and pre-exis t ing social networks. W i t h on ly one exception, a l l the immigrants in terviewed for this thesis h ighl ighted the key role o f other Argent inean immigrants and Spanish relatives i n their dec is ion to emigrate to Spa in and settle i n the c i ty where they l ived . Year Census / Municipal Registry Legal Legal Estimated Spaniards Italians Argentinean Residents Residents + Irregular total (a) (b) (c) (d) Naturalized (c-d) (a+b+c) 1985 9706 15909 1986 11800 12156 18841 1987 13845 21116 1988 14599 22676 1989 16165 24974 1990 17679 27584 1991 32334 20804 19966 30510 838 53138 1992 21571 33059 1993 22874 35896 1994 19922 34634 1995 38429 19406 18426 34452 980 57835 1996 18246 34659 1997 40039 21285 17188 35969 4097 61324 1998 40767 23252 17007 36914 6245 64019 1999 44349 26142 16290 37224 9852 70491 2000 47247 9000 37625 16610 38205 21015 93872 2001 52607 13000 66296 20412 42798 45884 131903 2002 62896 18271 128757 27937 51320 100820 209924 2003 69225 25128 130851 43347 67745 87504 225204 2004 74389 30961 151878 56193 79693 95685 257228 2005 81237 37248 132895 82412 106412 50483 251380 Table 3.4: Argentinean immigrants by legal status. Source: Actis and Esteban (forthcoming). T h e evolu t ion o f the Argent inean populat ion, as seen i n the changing legal status o f the immigrants (summarized i n Table 3.4), reveals some interesting trends. No tab ly , economic migrants f rom the early 2000s were w e l l aware o f the benefits o f h o l d i n g European ci t izenship - a right to w h i c h many were entitled by vir tue o f their Spanish or Italian ancestry. Howeve r , their attempts to obtain it often fai led, as the embassies and consulates o f Spa in and Italy saw themselves incapable - or u n w i l l i n g - to face the avalanche o f natural izat ion c la ims; many Argent ineans s i m p l y left, hop ing that things 56 w o u l d work-out once they were i n Europe. Th i s explains the spectacular growth o f undocumented migra t ion between 2000 and 2004 (355.3%). A s table 3.4 shows, this group grew most rapidly , fo l lowed b y Argent inean-born indiv iduals w i th an Italian passport (244%), legal residents (238.3%), and Argen t inean-bom immigrants w i t h a Spanish passport (57%). In 2002, right after the cris is , there were about 210,000 Argen t inean-bom immigrants l i v i n g i n Spa in w i t h different legal statuses: o f them, more than 48 percent (100,820) were undocumented. A R G E N T I N E A N IMMIGRATION T O D A Y : PROFILE A N D DISTRIBUTION. In summary, the f lows o f economic migra t ion from Argen t ina to Spa in buil t on exis t ing socia l networks and drast ical ly changed the profi le o f the Argent inean immigrant communi ty : the group became more diverse, w i t h a lower educational and professional standing, younger, and w i t h more heterogeneous legal statuses (undocumented migrants, legal residents, Italian ci t izens, and Spanish cit izens). U n l i k e other L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrant groups - more feminized , younger, and w i t h lower qual if icat ions - the Argent inean communi ty stands hal fway between E E A migra t ion and that o f T h i r d - W o r l d countries, al though it is gradual ly s l i d ing towards the latter. In 2005 Argent ineans enjoyed one o f the most balanced sex ratios o f a l l immigran t groups, w i t h just a smal l overrepresentation o f m e n (51.7 percent). Compared to L a t i n A m e r i c a n migrants to Spa in i n general, between 2000 and 2004 Argent ineans exhibi ted a lower percentage o f w o r k i n g age migrants (85.1 percent compared w i t h 86.9 percent o f the broader L a t i n A m e r i c a n populat ion) and a g r o w i n g proport ion o f Argent ineans younger than 20. B o t h facts seem to point to strong f lows o f f ami ly migra t ion . T h i s argument is supported by the fact that almost 57 percent o f Argentineans who migrated at that t ime were marr ied, a m u c h higher percentage than for other L a t i n A m e r i c a n groups (Ac t i s and Esteban, for thcoming). The most s t r ik ing trait o f this last migra t ion f rom Argen t ina is the d ivers i f ica t ion o f social and geographical or igins . W h i l e the Argent ineans o f the \"corra l i to\" came m a i n l y from urban centres, the relat ive weight o f immigrants f rom Buenos A i r e s seemed to be lower i n 2005 than thirty years earlier. Scholars i n the field h ighl ight the fact that the 57 divers i f ica t ion o f academic s k i l l levels (i.e. the growth o f groups w i t h lower levels o f education) has been even greater than the divers i f icat ion o f or igins , al though there is no rel iable source to prove these po in t s . 2 4 ' Regardless o f their or igins and legal status, the Argent inean-born immigrant popula t ion gravitates towards the b i g cities on ly s l ight ly less than the general third-country immigrant populat ion. A s maps 3.3 and 3.4 show, since 1996 there has been a re-dis t r ibut ion o f this populat ion across the national territory, a trend that runs against the tendency o f the general immigrant populat ion, w h i c h has tended to concentrate around the tradit ional immigrant areas. T h e m a i n change i n the last decade was the decrease o f the relative weight o f the Argent inean-born populat ion i n and around the areas that expel led the largest numbers o f emigrants to Argen t ina i n the last century, m a i n l y the North-western part o f the Peninsula (Ga l i c i a , Astur ias and part o f Cas t i l l a y Leon) . T o d a y most o f the Argent inean born popula t ion concentrates around the two m a i n urban centres o f M a d r i d and Barce lona , the Ba lea r i c Islands, V a l e n c i a , and several provincias i n Anda lus ia . T h e legal status o f the newcomers is also more var ied today than for previous waves: undocumented migrants, legal residents, I talo-Argentineans, and Hispano-Argent ineans are w i d e l y represented. Immediate ly after the crisis i n December 2001 , Argent ineans had one o f the highest rates o f irregular status ever seen i n Spain : at least 48 percent o f Argent inean immigrants d id not have the necessary documents to l i v e i n the country (Ac t i s and Esteban, forthcoming). F o u r years and one amnesty later, the situation has improved signif icant ly, as more than 20,000 Argent ineans managed to regularize their legal status i n 2005 (Alganaraz , 2005) and immigra t ion f lows from A r g e n t i n a have shrunk signif icant ly. T h e decrease i n rates o f irregulari ty m a y point to two factors: first, the rapid (legal) integration o f this group through different channels (arraigo, amnesties, 25 and naturalization); and second, the return o f many to their country o f o r ig in . 2 4 There is a database that provides information about individuals' professional skills (the Act ive Employment Survey), but the sample size for Argentineans was too small to guarantee reliable inferences: 437 subjects to represent a universe of 250,000. 2 5 Although some Argentineans may have decided to migrate to other countries (secondary migration) there is no evidence to support this point. 58 Map 3.3: Distribution of the total Argentinean-born population in Spain, 1996 (quintiles) Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica. Map 3.4: Distribution of the total Argentinean-born population in Spain, 2006 (quintiles) Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadistica. 59 Since the entry o f Spa in into the European U n i o n , access to ci t izenship has proved key for these immigrants . A s a general rule, Argent ineans enjoy the same pr ivi leges as other L a t i n A m e r i c a n groups when it comes to accessing Spanish ci t izenship; however , the his tory o f Spanish migra t ion to Argen t ina ensures that, as a group, a higher percentage o f these immigrants enter the country as Spaniards or naturalize w i t h i n one year due to their Spanish ancestry. T h e rather lax Italian Na t iona l i ty A c t - where even great-grandchildren o f Italian-born emigrants are entitled to apply for c i t izenship - also accounts for the growth o f a part icular group: the I talo-Argentineans or Argent inean-born ind iv idua ls w i t h Italian passports, who benefit f rom the right to w o r k and m o v e freely w i t h i n the E U . The question that remains unanswered is whether this recent wave o f immigra t i on w i l l stay, or w i l l instead return, or migrate elsewhere. W h i l e it is too soon to have enough informat ion and w i t h no indicators o f populat ion f lows between Spa in and Argen t ina , the s tabi l izat ion o f the Argent inean economy and the lack o f opportunities i n a rather segmented Spanish labour market m a y be fostering the return o f Argent inean immigrants to their country o f o r ig in . C O N C L U D I N G R E M A R K S In this chapter I have a imed to produce a picture o f the evolu t ion and prof i le o f the immigrant populat ion i n Spain , pay ing special attention to the L a t i n A m e r i c a n and Argent inean populat ions. Despi te the l imitat ions imposed b y the qual i ty o f the statistical data avai lable (ma in ly their l imi t ed timeframe, lack o f representativeness o f a l l immigran t categories, and lack o f f l ow measures), it is safe to make some generalizations that w i l l frame the d iscuss ion i n the chapters that fo l l ow. Firs t , the transit ion f rom a country o f emigrat ion to a country o f immig ra t i on has happened ve ry r ap id ly i n Spain : v i r tua l ly a l l immigrants l i v i n g i n Spa in currently have arr ived i n the last twenty years. Moreove r , the face o f immigra t ion has changed, as immigrants are increas ingly from the G l o b a l South. Th i s numer ica l and quali tat ive turnover has triggered strong reactions among the loca l popula t ion, as w e w i l l see i n 60 Chapter V . One such reaction is the overrepresentation o f A f r i c a n immigra t ion i n the publ ic imaginary - however , as w e have seen here Afr icans are a relat ively smal l and s low g rowing group, w i t h the notable except ion o f Moroccans . A m o n g the immigrants currently l i v i n g i n Spain,. L a t i n A m e r i c a n s are the largest and fastest g rowing group. The L a t i n A m e r i c a n popula t ion shows the characteristics typica l o f economic migra t ion , w i t h h igh percentages o f people o f w o r k i n g age and an overrepresentation o f w o m e n - both o f w h i c h are a response to the demands o f the Spanish labour market. L i k e other immigrant groups, L a t i n A m e r i c a n s are concentrated i n economic niches such as domest ic work , construction, agriculture, and the service sector, a tendency that seems to be i n decl ine as more La t ino workers f ind employment i n other areas. T h e spatial dis t r ibut ion o f L a t i n Amer i cans across the Spanish territory shows a strong correlat ion between settlement and avai labi l i ty o f a labour market i n traditional immigrant niches: h a l f the popula t ion is currently distributed between M a d r i d and Barce lona , and there is a strong presence o f Lat inos i n agricultural areas. Argentineans are one o f the oldest immigrant communi t ies i n Spain . W h i l e some o f the largest immigrant groups today were v i r tua l ly non-existent at the start o f the immigra t ion per iod i n the m i d 1990s, recent immigra t ion f lows f rom Argen t ina have bui l t upon an established Argent inean immigrant popula t ion that supports newcomers . Since the first Argentineans arr ived in the m i d 1970s, the booms and busts o f this immigrant communi ty have been deeply inter twined w i t h the cycles o f the unstable Argent inean economy. T h e crisis o f the \"cor ra l i to\" i n late 2001 was a k e y trigger o f contemporary migra t ion to Spain . Howeve r , the characteristics o f the Argent inean immigrant communi ty have changed greatly i n the last three decades. W h i l e the Argent ineans w h o arr ived i n the 1970s tended to be intellectuals and h i g h l y sk i l l ed workers (psychoanalysts, dentists, journalists , etc.), more recent in f lows resul t ing f rom the economic crises i n the late 1980s and early 2000s have a lower soc io-economic prof i le . S t i l l , Argent ineans as a group are the highest educated and have the best occupat ional outcomes o f a l l n o n - E E A immigrants . The traits o f the Argent inean popula t ion (o f European descent, re la t ively h igh educational levels , and urban and m i d d l e class origins) , the exis t ing support 61 networks, and the m e m o r y o f previous migrat ions expla in the relat ively better migratory experience o f Argent ineans when compared to other immigrant groups T h e experience o f Spa in ' s recent transition to a country o f immigra t ion and the characteristics o f the total, L a t i n A m e r i c a n , and Argent inean immigrant populat ions have so far been sketched w i t h numbers and tables. In the next chapters the picture w i l l acquire more depth, as the actors i n v o l v e d w i l l be g iven room to express their experiences and opinions . F r o m here on, the focus w i l l be on the ways through w h i c h Argent inean immigra t ion i n Spa in is regulated, integrated and represented, and h o w immigrants themselves accept or resist the categories that Spanish legis la t ion and pub l i c imagina t ion impose o n them. 62 CHAPTER IV: BRINGING ORDER TO CHAOS? IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP LAWS. 1985-2007 In the last chapter I sketched the evolut ion and prof i le o f the immigrant popula t ion i n Spain, pay ing special attention to the L a t i n A m e r i c a n and Argent inean populations. Here m y a i m is to b u i l d the connections between this evolut ion and that o f the legis la t ion i n the areas o f immigra t ion and ci t izenship. T h e phenomenon o f international migra t ion and the categories used to define and manage it are soc io-pol i t i ca l constructs - the result o f po l i t i ca l decisions that change according to the perceived interest o f the nation-state. In the last twenty years, two po l i t i ca l factors are key to understanding the development o f immigrat ion-related po l ic ies i n Spain: first, the shift ing interests o f its po l i t i ca l leaders in the area o f international relations, refocusing f rom L a t i n A m e r i c a to Europe; and second, the gradual decentral izat ion o f the Spanish government, w i t h increasing authority delegated to sub-national administrations (the Comunidades Autonomas; see footnote 6 i n chapter II). Other factors such as the emphasis on culture or c i v i c values i n the def ini t ion o f the nation - w h i c h w i l l not be discussed here - further influence Spa in ' s immigra t ion , integration, and ci t izenship legis lat ion. T o understand Spanish immigra t ion l aw it is also important to consider the effects o f scale. T h e combina t ion o f the European, Spanish, and regional scales y i e l d what some scholars have described as a \" complex mul t i l eve l governance system o f immigra t ion management\" (Die tz and A g r e l a , 2005). B e y o n d this, scale has a deep impact on the everyday integration o f Argent ineans i n Spa in : their fortunes w i l l greatly depend o n the degree to w h i c h they are perceived to fit i n as fu l l members o f the po l i t i ca l communi ty at each l eve l . F o r example, Argent ineans w i t h an Italian passport are automatical ly upgraded i n terms o f their rights as E U cit izens (European and national level ) ; on the other hand, the Argent ineans interviewed i n Ca ta lon ia be l ieved that their integration w o u l d a lways be hindered b y their l ack o f be long ing to what they see as a na r rowly defined Cata lon ian culture (regional level) . 63 L E G A L F R A M E W O R K : I M M I G R A T I O N L A W . The pace and breadth o f change in Spanish immigra t ion l aw has fo l lowed the evolu t ion o f migra t ion itself. U n t i l two decades ago, the focus o f the legis la t ion was on the protection o f emigrated Spaniards. F r o m 1852 unt i l the m i d 1980s, the l aw that regulated immigra t ion i n Spain made no dist inctions i n terms o f status and rights between settled foreigners and Spanish cit izens (Peha O b i o l , 2004). The Parl iament derogated the 1852 l aw i n 1985, as Spa in was required to pass the first comprehensive immigra t ion l aw o f its his tory i n order to j o i n the E U . The discuss ion o f l aw 7/1985 —\"on the Rights and Libert ies o f Foreigners i n S p a i n \" - brought the term \" immigran t\" into the po l i t i ca l discourse for the first t ime. M o r e o v e r , it p rov ided the terms that frame the discuss ion on immigra t ion to date: for example, the l aw used the term \" immigran t \" to define exclusively n o n - E U foreigners. T h i s use charged immigra t ion w i t h an array o f unspoken assumptions about the meaning, o f \" i m m i g r a t i o n \" to the country; it became identif ied wi th poor, illiterate, and rac ia l ized T h i r d W o r l d migrants. T h e expl ic i t goals o f the l aw were ( i ronical ly) to b u i l d a legal f ramework respectful o f the Declara t ion o f H u m a n Rights , reorganize the inst i tut ional chaos i n the field o f migra t ion , and prov ide a more detailed classif icat ion o f the circumstances o f foreigners l i v i n g i n Spain (Peha O b i o l , 2004). A c c o r d i n g to its Preface, \"the L a w [7/1985] through a l l o f its sections highlights the preoccupation for recogn iz ing the m a x i m u m number o f Rights and Liber t ies [to foreigners l i v i n g l ega l ly i n Spain] , whose exercise is prac t ica l ly equated to that o f Spanish c i t izens\" ( L O E 7/1985; author 's translation). Notwi ths tand ing this declaration o f pr inciples and goals - w h i c h were never achieved — the l aw was considered one o f the strictest i n Europe, more appropriate to tradit ional countries o f immigra t ion i n Europe than to the circumstances o f a latecomer such as Spa in (Agre l a R o m e r o and G i l Arau jo , 2004). L a w 7/1985 was also bad ly designed: some o f its k e y sections were unconsti tut ional , and others incompat ib le w i t h 64 the Schengen Agreement that Spain joined in 1992.2& The feeble attempts to implement the law revealed serious technical and juridical flaws (Pena Obiol, 2004). Some researchers have inteipreted this law as \"a consequence of the European dictates, under the ideology of the construction of the 'Fortress Europe'\" (Agrela Romero and Gil Araujo, 2004, p. 6; see also Huntoon, 1998). For these scholars the 1985 law was an attempt to comply with E U pressures to control migration, i f only formally. The move towards the abolition of internal E U borders initiated with the first Schengen Agreement in 1985 and the resulting need to control external borders was particularly important. This would explain the excessive toughness of the law, while inexperience and lack of political commitment would explain why the measures to control (illegal) migration were unsuccessful. Regarding Latin American citizens, law 7/1985 did not recognize, formally, special treatment to any national group. This was justified on the grounds of a Human Rights discourse and the avoidance of any kind of \"ethnic favouritism.\" (Joppke, 2005). However, the recognition of a special relation between Spain and Latin American countries survived in a few lines of the preface, which stated: the preoccupation of the law for a treatment of preference [tratamiento preferential] which benefited nationals of Ibero American countries, Portugal, Philippines, Equatorial Guinea, Sephardic Jews,2 7 and those born in Gibraltar due to the assumed cultural identity or affinity, which renders them worthy of such treatment (LOE 7/1985; author's translation). These privileges were articulated in legal bodies outside immigration law, in the form of visa waiver programs and preferential access to Spanish citizenship. During the 1990s, as the immigrant population became larger and more diverse, Parliament passed some partial modifications of the law in an attempt to make it functional. But soon it became obvious that in order to control undocumented migration 2 6 The Schengen Agreement's aims are to construct a EU-wide space of freedom for the movement of EU citizens, harmonize immigration and asylum procedures among the member states, and enforce the EU's external borders. 27 Sephardic Jews are a subgroup of the Jewish family. They were originally from the Iberian Peninsula, and had to leave Spain or convert to Catholicism under the rule of the Catholic Isabel de Castilla y Fernando de Aragon after 1492. In 1497 they were also expelled from Portugal. 65 and integrate the g r o w i n g foreign popula t ion into mainstream Spanish society Spain needed a comple te ly new immigra t ion law. T h i s new law should, first, confront the challenges o f the rap id ly g rowing immigra t ion , and second, c o m p l y wi th the international commitments acquired by Spain as a member o f the E U . The Parl iament passed the new law - L O E 4/2000 \" O n the Rights and Liber t ies o f Foreigners in Spa in and their S o c i a l Integration\" - by decree against the vote o f the Senate, just a few months before the general elect ion o f 2000. Immigra t ion became k e y i n the electoral campaign o f the three major national parties (PP , P S O E , and IU) . L a w 4/2000 reorganized the management o f immigra t ion issues, redistr ibuting the responsibi l i t ies and creating new agencies devoted exc lus ive ly to it, such as the Na t iona l Secretary o f Emigra t ion and Immigra t ion . The l aw also recognized a w ide range o f rights on matters l i k e health and education regardless o f the legal status o f immigrants . T h i s became one o f the m a i n controversies i n Parl iamentary discussions dur ing 2000, as the Conservat ive Party found that parts o f the l aw were inconsistent w i t h E U dictates, par t icular ly those a imed towards the creation o f a c o m m o n refugee l aw i n the U n i o n (Tampere, 1999). O n c e more, Europe was he ld accountable for the g r o w i n g strictness o f the Spanish immigra t ion law. T h e Conservat ive Party advocated a restrictive rev i s ion o f the or ig ina l l aw , w h i l e the rest o f the major national and regional parties pushed to keep the or ig ina l l a w w i t h some m i n o r modif ica t ions . Shor t ly after w i n n i n g the 2000 general election, the Conservat ive Party started work on the modi f ica t ion o f the l aw. B u t because they lacked an absolute majority i n Parl iament and were forced to negotiate w i t h members o f more moderate groups, the reforms were l imi ted . T h e first modi f ica t ion o f l aw 4/2000 came i n Augus t that same year ( L O E 8/2000). A m o n g other things, it denied undocumented migrants rights that were considered basic i n Spanish legis la t ion, l i ke the rights o f assembly, association, un ioniza t ion , and strike. Th i s enraged immigran ts ' associations and pol i t ic ians o f every stripe. T w o further modif ica t ions o f the l aw 8/2000 ( L O E 11/2003 and L O E 14/2003) returned those basic rights to immigrants regardless o f their legal status - but they d id not challenge the or ig ina l goals and categorizations o f l aw 4/2000. F o r example, the complex residence permit system for n o n - E E A nationals summar ized i n table 4.1 remained unchanged. T h i s system and the categories that it creates h ighl ight the in ter twining o f the 66 E U and Spanish immigration regimes: the differentiation between \"temporary\" and \"permanent\" resident corresponds with the dichotomy \"initial\" vs. \"Communitarian / E U \" immigrant - i.e., only permanent immigrants and E U citizens enjoy the right to travel, live, and work across the EU. But also because the granting and renewal of residence permits are generally dependent upon the previous concession of a work permit - except in the case of family reunification, political refugees, affluent immigrants, and other \"exceptional\" cases - the law sanctions a deeply economistic understanding of immigration. Authorization type Eligible groups Duration Initial Temporary Residence Permit. Under regular circumstances: - Foreigner workers with a work permit. - Non-lucrative residence (no work permit required). - Foreigners born to a foreign legal resident. Underage foreign-born under custody of Spaniard or legal resident. Under extraordinary circumstances: - arraigo labor al (settled through .work). - arraigo social (settled through family and social relations). - Humanitarian reasons; asylum seekers; refugees. - Minors under public custody who turn 18 with no residence permit. - Family members under family reunification procedures. - Cooperation with the administration and/or with the security forces. - National interest; National security; public interest. Initial temporary permit, 1 year. First renewal of temporary permit, 1 year. Second renovation of temporary permit, 2 years. Permanent residency (\"Communitarian/EU regime\") - Foreigners after 5 years of legal and uninterrupted residence in the national territory. - Retired foreigners with retirement income. - Foreign minors born in Spain who have lived in Spain three years prior to their 18th birthday. - Spaniards who lost their Spanish nationality. - Stateless persons and political refugees. - Individuals who have contributed significantly to the economic, scientific, or cultural progress of Spain or who have enhanced the image of Spain abroad. No deadlines. Table 4.1: Types of residence permit, eligible groups, and duration. Source: LOE 14/2003. 67 M o r e importantly, the Par l iament never questioned the two gu id ing pr inciples o f l aw 4/2000: control o f the borders and the conflat ion o f integration and (cultural) ass imila t ion o f immigrants . The control o f borders meant, foremost, the securi t izat ion o f immigra t ion . F o r example, the Conservat ive government increased the budget o f the M i n i s t r y o f the Interior by 186 percent i n 2003 ( A g r e l a Romero , 2002). M o s t o f this money went to the improvement o f the Externa l Integrated Survei l lance System ( S I V E ) to control i l lega l migra t ion from A f r i c a to the Canary Islands. The rise o f the fortress wa l l s also affected the H i span ic C o m m u n i t y , because the l aw erased any reference to special treatment that survived i n 7 /1985 . 2 8 Moreove r , between 2000 and 2004 the •Spanish parl iament cancel led v i s a wa iver programs w i t h several L a t i n A m e r i c a n countries. Table 4.2 shows the different requirements for entry and residence for ci t izens o f different w o r l d regions. Origin Entry Stay EEA Free, no visa. Free, no permits required; automatically granted permanent residency. Ibero America Visa needed for nationals of Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru, and the Dominican Republic. Permit required for stays longer than three months in all cases. Rest of countries Visa required for most cases.29 Visa required for all stays longer than three months. Table 4.2 Entry requirements for entry and stay for citizens of different world regions. Sources: Immigration Law (14/2003); bilateral treaties. Despi te the legislat ion, there is g r o w i n g evidence that Spanish border officers are rejecting L a t i n A m e r i c a n nationals at the border i f they suspect that the person has intentions to immigrate . In cases where such people are not fo rmal ly required to h o l d a The only vestige of privilege is the exemption of payment of administrative fees for the processing of the working permit (law 14/2003, article 47). 2 9 Exceptions: nationals of Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Slovakia, Slovenia, United States, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Island, Israel, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Nicaragua, Norway, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Poland, Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Rumania, San Marino, Vatican, Singapore, Switzerland, Uruguay, Venezuela, Hong Kong and Macao. 68 . v i s a to enter the territory, this means that some bilateral laws on the protection o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n c i t izens ' rights are not be ing respected (Coordinadora Estatal de Asoc iac iones Argent inas en Espana, 2005; Casa Argen t ina de M a d r i d , 2005; interviews). In other words , the e l imina t ion o f the legal pr ivi leges that L a t i n Amer i cans enjoyed i n the past to enter and stay i n Spa in is being reinforced through everyday practices o f border control . T h e second pr inc ip le o f the l aw 4/2000 that remained unchal lenged -ass imi la t ion - d id i n fact benefit L a t i n Amer i cans . T h e l aw designed a f ramework for state integration programs: the G l o b a l P rogram for the Regula t ion and Coord ina t ion o f Immigra t ion ( G R E C O ; M T A S , 2001), w h i c h clear ly conceived o f immigra t i on as a threat to the Spanish nat ion and culture. E c h o i n g the under ly ing assumptions o f the immigra t i on law, the program contributed to the conflat ion o f non-European immigra t ion w i t h T h i r d -W o r l d immigra t ion (poor, illiterate, and foreign). It is wor th not ing that this conflat ion is a false one: as we have seen in the previous chapter, the immigrant popula t ion is h i g h l y heterogeneous, and a l l groups except Af r icans do i n fact have higher educational rates than Spaniards (Garr ido and Tohar ia , 2004). Furthermore, the assumption is that immigrants are different and inferior due to their national or igins, a point that is elaborated i n the G R E C O , w h i c h understands culture almost as a b i o l o g i c a l and immutab le trait o f the immigrant . In this discourse, the process o f integration envisages a process o f \"accul turat ion\" for w h i c h some national g roups 3 0 (e.g. L a t i n Amer i cans ) w h o are assumed to be more easi ly assimilable into \"mainstream Spanish society\" than others. In summary, Spanish immigra t ion l aw i n the last two decades has changed q u i c k l y . The changes have fo l lowed (never anticipated) the evolu t ion o f international migrat ions to the country and have p rovoked parl iamentary discussions that illustrate the increasing po l i t i c i sa t ion o f immigra t ion i n Spain. Immigra t ion has also become securi t ized, as the immigra t ion laws have g rown stricter w i t h every modi f ica t ion since 1985. A s part o f this tendency, there has been a gradual severing o f the ties w i t h the H i span i c C o m m u n i t y , o f w h i c h Argen t ina is part. O n the grounds o f equal treatment o f a l l foreigners without regards to their ethnic or nat ional or igins, the legis la t ion has 3 0 \"National Group\" is the concept used in Spanish legislation and public discourse. There is no reference to ethnic groups, visible minorities, or any other terms widely used in the Canadian context. 69 fo l lowed a clear-cut pattern o f e l iminat ing the pr iv i leges ci t izens o f La t i n A m e r i c a n countries enjoyed i n the past. The transition has not been paralleled in the field o f integration pol ic ies , w h i c h conceive o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n s as more assimilable than other n o n - E U immigrant groups. L E G A L F R A M E W O R K : NATIONALITY LEGISLATION. T h e rapidi ty o f the evolu t ion o f immigra t ion l aw contrasts w i th the stabil i ty o f 31 ci t izenship legislat ion, w h i c h has remained bas ica l ly unchanged since the late 1970s. Spanish l aw assigns nat ionali ty or a l lows the ind iv idua l to attain it according to three pr inciples : ius sanguini or b l o o d ties w i t h the nation, ius soli or bir th i n the national territory, and ius dimicili or per iod o f legal residence i n the country (the requirements under each pr inc ip le are summarized in table 4.3). In Spain , as i n other countries o f Southern Europe w i t h a long his tory o f emigrat ion such as Italy or Portugal , ius sanguini prevai ls over the other two. Interestingly, as these countries have become countries o f immigra t ion the pr inc ip le o f ius sanguini has been reinforced i n an attempt to main ta in strong l inks w i t h their emigrants and their descendants, w h i l e the other two paths have remained largely unchanged. The pr ivi leges that L a t i n A m e r i c a n ci t izens enjoy i n this legislat ive body are an interesting departure f rom the p r imacy o f b l o o d ties, al though on ly a partial one, as the \"special ties\" between the former colonies i n A m e r i c a and the Spanish nation prov ide for an extended interpretation o f l i teral ancestry. The recogni t ion o f such ties'emerges m a i n l y i n the length o f the required per iod o f legal and cont inued residence i n the national territory pr ior to the acquis i t ion o f the Spanish ci t izenship: i n the absence o f direct (first or second generation) Spanish ancestry, the requirement is o f two years for L a t i n Amer i cans nationals, ten for the rest o f the foreigners, and five for refugees. The^same preference applies through the pr inciples o f ius soli, as i n most cases chi ldren born to 3 1 The legislation is scattered across five legal bodies: the basic principles are in the Spanish Constitution (1978), while the specification of concrete procedures is spread between the C i v i l Code (title 1, articles 17 to 26), the L a w of the C i v i l Registry (articles 1, 2, 15, 16, 18, 63, 67), the Regulation of the C i v i l Registry (articles 220 to 224), and bilateral agreements on dual nationality. The reforms introduced after 1978 have been very limited, affecting mostly the status of emigrants and their descendants and the right of E U citizens in the national territory. 70 Latin American parents receive Spanish citizenship at birth - unlike most other non-EU second-generation immigrants. The smoother paths provided to Latin Americans to access citizenship status support Joppke's argument that since 1985 the Hispanic Community has tended \"to retain, even to strengthen, its legal foothold in nationality law, while losing out in immigration law\" (2005, p. 121). Principle and general requirements Requirement for Argentinean citizens Ius Sanguini Children born to Spanish-born citizens can be naturalized at any point in their lives. In some cases dual citizenship is recognized. Same requirements as other national groups. Dual . citizenship recognized. Ius Soli The Spanish nationality legislation grants Spanish citizenship to all children born in Spain to foreign parents whose state of origin does not recognize such children as their own nationals. Specific bilateral agreements (e.g. with Ibero American countries) also grant Spanish nationality to children born to foreign parents. Children born in Spain to Argentinean parent(s) may obtain Spanish citizenship at birth and enjoy dual Hispano-Argentinean citizenship. Legal and uninterrupted residence 1 year Individuals born in Spanish territory; minors under custody of a Spanish-born citizen or a Spanish official institution for two consecutive years; foreigners married to a Spanish-born citizen, not divorced or separated; their widows and widowers, proven the couple was not divorced or separated at the time of the partner's death; children and grandchildren of Spaniards, whether they where Spanish-born or acquired the Spanish citizenship32. If lacking first- or second-degree. Spanish ancestry Argentineans are required two years of legal and continued residence. 2 years Individuals with Ibero American, Equatorial Guinean, or Portuguese citizenship from birth. Sephardic Jews are also considered under this provision. 5 years Refugees. 10 years Al l other circumstances. Table 4.3: Access to citizenship according to main principle of application, with specifications for Argentinean citizens. Source: nationality legislation. Spanish legislation discriminates between Spanish-born citizens and individuals who have acquired the nationality later in their lives. 71 The m a i n changes in the Spanish ci t izenship regime since 1985 are not related to the g rowing immigra t ion f lows, but are instead a direct consequence o f the process o f Eu ropean iza t i on - more specif ical ly , to the need to conform to the pr inciples o f the Maastr icht Treaty (1992) w h i c h inst i tut ional ized European ci t izenship. These changes have triggered the expansion o f c i t izenship rights, albeit exc lus ive ly for ci t izens o f the E U . The changes have responded to the need to create a new category, the \"communi ta r ian c i t i zen\" . Those who fal l under this label are entitled to v i r tua l ly the same rights as nationals, w i t h some l imitat ions regarding their part icipat ion i n national pol i t ics . It is wor th not ing that the condit ions under w h i c h E U nationals can access Spanish legal c i t izenship remain as they were pr ior to the Maast r icht Treaty. C o m b i n i n g the three elements described above - p r imacy o f ius sanguini, privi leges g iven to L a t i n A m e r i c a n nationals, and the recent creation o f a special status for nationals o f E U member states - the result is a segmented ci t izenship regime based on a double d iscr imina t ion: first between E U and n o n - E U cit izens, and second between L a t i n A m e r i c a n cit izens and the rest o f n o n - E U foreigners. Th i s means that overa l l Argent ineans have access to the most p r iv i leged categories o f immigra t ion : first, to the \" C o m m u n i t a r i a n \" group, as many are e l ig ib le for European (Italian or Spanish) c i t izenship b y vir tue o f their ancestry; and second, to the group o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrants , b y virtue o f their national o r ig in . Some experts have c r i t i c i zed Spanish c i t izenship legis lat ion for c l i ng ing to its outdated premises and refusal to integrate the g r o w i n g p o o l o f immigrants as fu l l members o f Spanish society - and not just taxpayers (A lva rez , 2005; Cano Bazaga , 2004). T h e y argue that the extremely l im i t ed changes introduced i n 2003 and 2007 are 33 not proper ly responding to the needs o f a g r o w i n g immigrant popula t ion i n Spain . Immigrant associations, lawyers , and pol i t ic ians have lobb ied for a unified. Na t iona l i ty A c t that addresses the real i ty o f Spa in as a country o f immigra t ion without g i v i n g up the protection o f Spanish emigrants and their descendants. A m o n g the advocates o f the cause are A u r e l i a A l v a r e z , Professor at the U n i v e r s i d a d de L e o n , and several immigrant These changes were limited to the reinforcement of the ties with emigrated Spaniards (recognizing, for example, their right to run in the general election). They did not affect the grandchildren of Spanish emigrants or immigrants living in Spain 72 associations interviewed in this study. However , immigrant lobbies do not challenge the insti tution o f ci t izenship - w h i c h some Au tonomous Communi t i e s are pushing for. \" A C O M P L E X M U L T I L E V E L S Y S T E M OF M IGRATION M A N A G E M E N T \" : T H E R O L E OF T H E \" C O M U N I D A D E S A U T O N O M A S \" . A s the last sentence suggests, the administrative structure o f the Spanish nat ion-state further complicates the d iscuss ion o f immigrants ' integration. Spa in is a m u l t i -national state, despite the long-standing attempts to homogenize the diverse nationalit ies w i t h i n Spanish borders (a project that lasted since the early 16 t h century unt i l F ranco ' s death i n 1975). S ince the end o f the dictatorship and more so since the 1980s, decentral izat ion has become a k e y component o f the national democratic project. Y e t at the moment the potential for further decentralization is l imi ted , as the Const i tu t ion e x p l i c i t l y forbids the creation o f a federal state o f Comunidades Autonomas. Governments at the l eve l o f the Comunidades Autonomas have fought for a n d . obtained a great deal o f autonomy from the central state, 3 4 especial ly i n Cata lonia , the Basque Count ry , the Comunidad Valenciana, G a l i c i a , and Anda lus i a . The C o m m u n i t i e s cannot - and w i l l not be able to unless the Const i tu t ion is modi f i ed - have ju r i sd ic t ion i n nat ional i ty and immigra t i on matters, w h i c h are under direct and exclus ive sovereignty o f the central state (Cons t i tu t ion Espanola , 1978, art. 149). Howeve r , w i t h i n the f ramework o f the national program for the integration o f immigrants ( G R E C O ) the C o m m u n i t i e s h o l d most o f the responsibi l i ty for running regional integration programs. These p rog rams 3 5 are consistent w i t h the divers i ty o f histories o f immigra t ion to and emigra t ion f rom the regions, and w i t h the d ive rg ing interpretations o f the role that immigra t ion has i n the regional/nat ional project. B u t more interestingly, the Communi t i e s have used the integration plans to appropriate the concept o f c i t izenship and assert their resistance to state pol ic ies . 3 4 The degree of autonomy from the central state is different for each Autonomous Community, depending on the degree of \"uniqueness\" and the history of forms of self-government prior to Franco' s dictatorship. 3 5 There are at least six regional integration plans (Andalusia, Balearic Islands, Murcia , Aragon, Basque Country, and Catalonia). 73 This resistance is jus t i f ied on the basis o f ambiguous definit ions o f responsibil i t ies regarding the integration o f immigrants at different scales o f government. These ambiguit ies a l low for different interpretations o f regional responsibi l i ty and make it possible for regional governments to go w e l l beyond their fo rmal ly defined duties i n the appl icat ion o f the immigra t ion l a w . 3 6 Different ia l treatment o f equivalent cases emerged strongly i n m y interviews i n Ca ta lon ia - one o f the regions w i t h the highest degrees o f autonomy - where immigrants , associations, and lawyers expressed their frustration w i t h the arbitrary ways i n w h i c h the regional governments appl ied federal laws. The different practices o f integration relate to regional discourses o f \" s e l f ' and \"otherness\" that often differ f rom the same representations at the national leve l . If, as some.authors have suggested, integration po l ic ies need to be studied i n relat ion to the nat ion-bui ld ing project (Brubaker, 1992; F a v e l l , 2001), then in the Spanish case the different integration programs must be analyzed as attempts to strengthen the difference o f peripheral , stateless nations (see G i l Arau jo , 2006). The cases o f Cata lon ia and the Basque Coun t ry clear ly show h o w immigrant integration serves as an instrument o f resistance and nation bu i ld ing . The \" s e l f i n these regions ' immigrant integration plans is defined more i n opposi t ion to an oppressive and reactionary central state than to the \" immigrant other\" (cf. w i th the G R E C O program at the national level discussed above). In the case o f Cata lonia , the integration o f outsiders has a long history. Be tween the 1950s and the 1970s, immigrants f rom poorer regions such as A n d a l u s i a and Extremadura migrated to Cata lon ia responding to the labour demands o f the region 's industrial revolut ion. These earlier migrants, who were perceived as foreigners, presented challenges s imi la r to the ones brought b y international migra t ion today. T h e integration o f Andaluces and Extremeness l ed to an early understanding o f the meaning o f be ing Catalonian and the development o f several options for the integration o f \"foreign elements\" into Cata lonian society. B y the m i d 1950s Jordi P u y o l (an eminent figure o f Cata lonian pol i t ics throughout the last h a l f century) had already out l ined a \"Ca ta lon ian doctrine towards immigrants ' in tegra t ion\"(Puyol , 1958; cited in G i l Arau jo , 2006, 242; 3 6 Although the immigration law emanates from the central government, all the paperwork is processed in regional and local offices and the specific integration policies are implemented by the local and regional governments. 74 author's translation). P u y o l based his \"doctr ine\" on a def ini t ion o f \"the Cata lon ian b e i n g \" {el ser cataldri) heav i ly inf luenced b y arborescent metaphors - roots, hybr ids , and transplants. In this discourse, language {Catalan) had the leading role i n the conservat ion o f the regional na t i onhood 3 7 - a trait that survives to date and that acts against the interests o f La t ino immigrants i n the region. In a l l cases, nationalist leaders defined Cata lonia as a w e l c o m i n g society w i t h a specific cul tural identi ty that needs to be preserved (note that \" immigran t s\" i n this discourse are seen as potential a l l ies , not threats). However , i n the pub l i c po l i t i ca l discourse there are also references to \"race\" and the phenotype that support the argument that there is a strong ethnic component i n the understanding o f the Cata lonian nation. T h i s ethnic bias is even stronger i n the Basque context, where references to the ethnic def ini t ion o f the nat ion are constant among nationalist leaders. Thus , just a few years ago the then head o f the m a i n nationalist party and president o f the Basque Parl iament , X a v i e r A r z a l l u z , p u b l i c l y supported the hypothesis that \" rea l \" Basques have negative b l o o d types, and that \"the b lood issue on ly confirms that [the Basque people] has its o w n roots, identif iable since prehis tory\" (quoted i n El Mundo, 2004; author's translation). Just l i k e the Cata lonian case, the discourse on the nat ion is ful l o f parallels to the natural w o r l d : the name g iven to the.Basque Coun t ry i n the loca l language is Euskadi, l i te ra l ly \"plant where Euskeras [Basques] g row\" . Immigrants, i n this case, w o u l d be considered cultural hybr ids . T h e m a i n p rob lem for the Communi t i e s is that they are not the keepers o f such a w o r l d o f roots, trees, and hybrids where regional identities seed and grow: the central state is , since on ly M a d r i d decides the f lora (i.e. types o f immigra t ion) that are wor th cul t ivat ing. O n the other hand, the concept o f immigrants ' c i t izenship, vaguely defined, presents opportunities for Spa in ' s stateless nat ional isms, w h i c h appropriate, manipulate , and quest ion it i n open oppos i t ion to the central state. F o r example, the Basque Immigra t ion P l a n highl ights that the Spanish Const i tu t ion \"... the permanent factor, the steady rock, is the Catalan. I f one day that changed, men who inhabit this part o f the peninsula, whatever their origin, would stop being a people. (...) This means that the integrating core, culturally and mentally, is Catalan.\" (Puyol 1976, p. 36; quoted in G i l Araujo, 2006 p. 244). 75 ... does not mention the concept of citizenship. On the contrary, the concept of citizenship (or the citizen) is used in the [national] legislation ambiguously and with several meanings. Such concepts must be put in relation to an array of rights, as much civic and political as economic, social, and cultural, which affect [the region's] competences.such as education, health, housing, and social well-being, all of them under the competence of the Basque Autonomous Community as T O regulated in the Community's Estatuto (...) and in a broader sense [competences] exclusive to the Basque institutions. (Plan Vasco de Integration 2003-2005, p. 55; author's translation). Although each regional immigrant integration plan has its own traits, in general they share a much more positive view of immigration than the national program (GRECO). Also, as in the example used above, regional plans adopt differential understandings of citizenship, calling for a further clarification of its multiple meanings as a necessary step in the way towards the emergence of more inclusive forms of citizenship. Mainly, the regional integration plans aim to build forms of belonging that overcome citizenship's bondage to the central government - and that conceive of the immigrant as a potential political, economic, and cultural member of the society of reception regardless of their nationality of origin and their legal status. In summary, the administrative structure of the Spanish state - organized in three basic vertically inter-dependent levels: the local, the regional, and the national - leads to a \"complex multilevel governance system of immigration management\" (Dietz and Agrela, 2005). Because some competences on immigration management are not clearly defined in the national legislation, immigration has emerged as an area of struggle in the efforts to gain both greater independence from the central state and the assertion of differentiated regional identities. The regional plans for immigrant integration are fruitful spaces for this struggle. These programs highlight (and construct) the unique identity of each region in relationship to the integration of immigrants. Moreover, these plans frequently uncover specific national projects that diverge from the central state's plans in core issues such as the definition, status, and rights of the members. There is a clear willingness on the part of the regions to overcome the conceptual limitations imposed on T O The Estatutos de Autonomia are the equivalent to the state Constitution at the level of the Communities. Only the Communities with highest degree of self-government have Estatutos. 76 the category o f the c i t izen by the national state - a wi l l ingness that goes beyond socia l integration programs and steps into areas under the strict sovereignty o f the state. Par t icular ly , C o m m u n i t i e s a i m to break wi th the state-bounded legal category o f \"the c i t i zen\" . T h e a im is to achieve recogni t ion o f the immigrant - and indeed o f a l l the members o f the society - as ind iv idua ls w i th soc ia l , po l i t i ca l , and economic rights derived s i m p l y from their condi t ion as human beings. T h i s new understanding o f the meaning(s) o f c i t izenship m a y not a lways benefit Argent inean immigrants : emphasis o n the region 's cultural uniqueness i n fact strips Argentineans o f the privi leges they enjoy at the national leve l , ass imi la t ing them w i t h the broader immigrant populat ion. C O N C L U D I N G R E M A R K S : H I E R A R C H Y O F O T H E R N E S S (I) In this chapter I have explored the ways i n w h i c h three fields o f pub l i c p o l i c y ( immigra t ion , c i t izenship, and integration) have evolved i n Spain since 1985. These three areas construct the f ramework i n w h i c h the Argent inean populat ion is managed and integrated into Spanish society. S ince the Par l iament passed the first immigra t ion l aw in 1985, the trend has been towards more restrictive laws that complicate the legal immigra t ion o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrants . T h e possibi l i t ies o f lega l ly migra t ing to Spa in at the moment are v i r tua l ly non-existent (except i n the case o f f ami ly reunification). Residence permits depend upon w o r k i n g permits, w h i c h i n turn depend upon the existence o f a job offer that takes between one and two years to be processed. Ano the r opt ion considered i n the immigra t ion l aw (worker quotas selected i n the country o f or igin) remains undeveloped. A s a consequence, the L a t i n A m e r i c a n communi ty in general, and Argent inean immigra t ion i n particular, are gradual ly lo s ing their p r iv i l eged place i n Spanish immigra t ion l aw. A s special pr iv i leges afforded to Argent inean migrants are rescinded i n Spanish legis la t ion, immigrants f rom this country are increasingly forced into i l l ega l i ty and more precarious migra tory experiences than used to be the case. In contrast to the evo lu t ion o f the immigra t ion laws, c i t izenship legis la t ion has remained stable dur ing the last two decades. A t the national level c i t izenship has mainta ined a def ini t ion o f the nat ion that accepts L a t i n Amer i cans as almost Spaniards, 77 granting them exceptional privileges in their access to citizenship. Argentinean immigrants in many cases also have the benefit of European ancestry, which allows them to enter and stay in the country as E U citizens (generally as Hispano-Argentineans or halo-Argentineans). The program for the integration of foreigners ( G R E C O ) builds the growing gap between immigration and citizenship legislation at the national level. In the G R E C O , cultures are understood as quasi-genetic attributes of the immigrant, stable, natural characteristics that place the foreigner at the outskirts of the national community by virtue of their national origins. The \"cultural fundamentalism\" of the Spanish integration plan shows clear ethnic favouritism, and helps us to uncover the ideological underpinnings of a highly discriminatory citizenship regime. Regional integration programs, however, challenge the national framework for the integration of (non-European) immigrants. These programs provide for different models of integration, and more importantly, reject the national definition of membership, albeit in their own ethnocentric terms. In summary, the changing legislation on entry, integration, and access to citizenship in Spain, together with a deeply culturalist discourse of the immigrant other, have contributed to the legal, political, and economic exclusion of a large portion of the immigrant population. The legislation has produced a hierarchy of immigrant otherness. In this hierarchy Argentineans occupy a privileged space secured by citizenship laws and the national framework for the integration of immigrants. But that space is also challenged by the evolution o f immigration law and the regional integration programs, which tend to homogenize the categories of immigration and eliminate considerations of national origins. 78 CHAPTER V : ARGENTINEAN IMMIGRATION IN POPULAR DISCOURSE ... it's something like institutionalized... that Latin Americans are closer to us (...) You find that in any colloquial conversation, in the radio, even among academics. We take Latin Americans for granted. But imagine, such a category! From which country? Where? Which social class? This thing, being Argentinean, where does it come from? From drinking mate? What do Argentineans have in common? These stereotypes work even in [academic] research, so that at the same time, I believe that the same research somehow reinforces [such stereotypes] in some cases, because it carries along a full exercise of self-reflection on the own ways we look at the world (...). We are saying: \"the cultural is there\", but what is the cultural? (...) We are reinforcing already existing attitudes of cultural fundamentalism, and we're saying that's ok. (Academic 2, M a d r i d ) . In the previous chapter I argued that the growth and increasing divers i ty o f Spa in ' s immigrant popula t ion and its entry into the E U have contributed to the toughening o f immigra t i on laws. L a t i n Amer i cans , who have t radi t ional ly enjoyed exclus ive benefits to enter, l i ve , and w o r k i n Spain , have been most affected. T h e loss o f footing i n immigra t i on laws contrasts w i t h the maintenance o f the group's pr iv i leges i n ci t izenship legis la t ion - but g iven that i n most cases immigrants must reside l ega l ly i n the country pr ior to the acquis i t ion o f c i t izenship status, that does not mean much . A series o f deeply entrenched popular attitudes towards immigra t ion i n general, and more par t icular ly towards the L a t i n A m e r i c a n and Argent inean immigrant populat ion, can help us understand the coexistence o f these two strands o f legis la t ion and the under ly ing assumptions o f the national program for the integration o f immigrants ( G R E C O ) out l ined i n chapter I V . S ince the late 1990s - and especial ly since the general election o f 2000 - immigrat ion-rela ted issues are debated on the newspapers ' front pages, i n Parl iament, and i n everyday bar conversations. There is a differentiated and layered j discourse on immigra t i on - a discourse where each type o f migra t ion has a pre-determined place i n the m i n d o f Spaniards: some immigrants are \" l i k e us\", and some are \"different\"; some fit, and some do not, and w i l l not. I argue that the integration o f Argent inean immigrants i n Spa in cannot be understood without reference to these stereotypes, categories, and hierarchies that Spanish imaginat ions impose on immigrants 79 and that make inst i tut ional ized d iscr iminat ion , i nc lud ing d i sc r imina t ion i n integration pol ic ies and ci t izenship legis lat ion seem natural, and thereby log ica l . ' In the f o l l o w i n g pages I w i l l focus on pub l ic discourse on and popular representations o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n and Argent inean immigra t ion . M y sources are the mainstream national press {El Pais, La Vanguardia, El Mundo, ABC), some pub l i c speeches b y pol i t ic ians , and several conversations col lected dur ing m y f ie ldwork . A l l o f these discourses are, general ly speaking, i n tension w i t h the gradual e l imina t ion o f benefits for L a t i n A m e r i c a n s i n immigra t ion law. In fact they situate La t inos , and more so Argent ineans, w i t h i n the boundaries o f the imagined Spanish nation. O N B O A T S , \"INDIANOS\", AND STORIES AROUND A C O F F E E T A B L E I got m y first vo i ce recorder i n 2001 to in terview m y grandma, a great storyteller, about the fortunes and misfortunes o f our fami ly . H e r favourite stories are a lways those o f the c i v i l war and its aftermath, between 1936 and the 1950s. She l i v e d i n a t own b y the sea, a seaport on the Medi ter ranean severely hit b y the war because o f its strategic value for both sides o f the conf l ic t - the republicans and the nationals. She to ld o f murderers and hunger, extended famil ies d iv ided b y their po l i t i ca l allegiances that more often than not depended upon non-pol i t ica l factors, such as the street where they l i v e d and i l l -intentioned rumours. So m u c h hunger when the war ended, she to ld me, so many chi ldren to feed yet so many men were gone, gone forever. Then , l i ke i n a dream, she said, those b i g boats arr ived to the port, and i n front o f the astonished eyes o f the town-dwel lers the mi l i t a ry unloaded wheat, tons o f wheat, dr ied meat, cereals. \" W e heard the cousins from Argen t ina are sending us food, the government and our cousins heard about our diff icult ies and are he lp ing , and people w o u l d say, ' G o d bless our cousins, G o d bless the r i c h land o f A r g e n t i n a ' \" . This food was not really given, but sold to the Spanish government between 1947 and 1955. The supplies included wheat, corn, meat, and cooking oil that the Argentinean government agreed to sell to Franco's government at a low price, despite the opposition of the international community. Voices against this trade warned that this was a form of support towards the dictatorial regime. International pressures and the worsening of the relationships between the Spanish and the Argentinean governments led to a decrease in the trade after 1950 and its final cancellation in 1955 (Cisneros and Escude, 2000). 80 Some o f those \"cous ins\" returned: they were k n o w n as Indianos, a term mean ing the Spaniard who left Spa in poor and returned from La t in A m e r i c a (especial ly Argent ina) weal thy (Dicc iona r io de l a R e a l A c a d e m i a de la Lengua Espafiola, 2001). A c c o r d i n g to some o f the people I interviewed, the image o f the indiano was s t i l l very powerful i n the early stages o f the Argent inean immigra t ion to Spa in i n the m i d and late 1970s. T h i s image d id not necessari ly lead to good relations, especial ly when the first Argent ineans arr ived to a post-dictatorship Spa in o n l y bare ly w i t h i n the periphery o f Europe, both ' economica l ly and cul tural ly. A t that t ime, Argent ineans were v i ewed as arrogant and judgmental towards Spaniards. A s an academic w h o studies the Argent inean col lec t ive put it, Spaniards rejected Argentineans because they were so arrogant, they thought themselves better [than Spaniards] (...) In symbolic terms, it was as if the master came here. I mean, instead of what happens now, now the hierarchy has changed, the hierarchy back then was [different], middle class Argentineans [came], with university degrees, with a cultural baggage, with an educational level similar to that of Northern Europe, they came to Spain and of course, Spaniards said: \"they look down on us! They are criticizing us!\" ( A c a d e m i c 1, Barcelona) . B u t there was also something else, a feel ing o f empathy and attachment. F o r example, po l i t i ca l refugees often describe moments o f intense emotional recogni t ion upon their arr ival i n Spa in i n the 1970s: ... people that didn 't know me, people, the common people, let's say (...) those were the people who gave the real solidarity, people who showed n o b l e z a , 4 0 and ... the true Spanish spirit that I had read in my grandfather's books, because I read Castelar, books that my grandfather left when he died. (Interview 4 i n Marga r i t a del O l m o , 2001 , p . 83; author's translation). M o r e recent immigrants also described s imi la r feelings o f be ing we lcomed : \"at w o r k Spaniards talk very w e l l about Argent ineans, ' they are very pol i te people, h igh ly s k i l l e d ' (...) and they smi le and tell me, ' m y grandpa went to A r g e n t i n a ' \" (male immigrant , >45, arr ived i n 2001 and undocumented unt i l the amnesty i n 2005). In fact, experiences o f d i sc r imina t ion are rare, usua l ly l imi ted to w o m e n w o r k i n g in the domest ic service. B u t i n general interviewees ' experiences support the results o f a survey carried 4 0 The Spanish term \"nobleza\" brings together the qualities of nobility, honesty, and uprightness. 81 out a few years ago that stated that Argentineans are the immigrant group preferred b y Spaniards - even before other E U immigrants (\"Argent ina and its ci t izens are the favourite for Spaniards\", M . P . , 12/24/2003). M a y b e because o f this open preference it is surpris ing to hear some o f the stereotypes that mediate the interaction between Spaniards and Argent ineans. M y Spanish interviewees described Argentineans as l iars, \"smart-asses\", and womanizers , as w e l l as be ing f laky, arrogant, racist, stubborn, and proud; interestingly, they were also seen as \"ve ry s imi la r to Spaniards\" (pol ice officer, lawyer 1, l awyer 2, conversations). The juxtapos i t ion o f the perceived s imi lar i ty and preference for Argent ineans against such harsh prejudices uncovers the complexi t ies o f a long-term relat ionship, and the cont inui ty o f inter-group categories o f reference, inherited from the times o f the great overseas migrat ions. There is a feel ing o f self-recognit ion i n the eyes o f the other, a relationship o f empathy shaded by stereotypes that have been constructed through the generations. In the interviews, I found that vague notions o f fami l ia r i ty survive i n interactions between Argent inean-born immigrants and Spaniards, something that is consistent w i t h the analysis o f two other strands o f popular discourse: the press and po l i t i c ians ' speeches. A R G E N T I N E A N S I N T H E M E D I A , O R H O W T H E \" I N D I A N O S \" B E C A M E \" P I B E S \" 4 1 The role o f the m e d i a i n the creation o f col lec t ive representations o f the \" s e l f and the \" immigran t \" other is c rucia l for the emerging frameworks o f understanding and interaction such as those described i n the previous section. G i v e n the lack o f day-to-day interactions between L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrants and most Spaniards who do not l i ve i n the m a i n metropolises, Ret is (2004) argues that Lat inos are often ' k n o w n ' by the images that the med ia provides . A c c o r d i n g to her, images o f L a t i n A m e r i c a and its people i n the media are characterized b y a strong correlat ion between the region and negative events; the idea o f a coherent L a t i n A m e r i c a (a \" communi ty o f Ibero A m e r i c a n nations\") that pays l i t t le attention to the different realities o f the region, between and w i t h i n its countries; and a marked contrast between the \"European S p a i n \" and the \" T h i r d W o r l d 4 1 In Argentina, slang for \"kid\", i.e., anyone. 82 La t in A m e r i c a \" that focuses on ly on the present and ignores the his tor ical relations between the former and the latter. Re t i s ' analysis o f the treatment o f the L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigra t ion i n the Spanish media and the different ways i n w h i c h Ecuadorians , C o l o m b i a n s and Argentineans were portrayed i n the national press between 2000 and 2001 is very enlightening. Here , I b u i l d on her section on Argen t ina and expand the t ime frame from the 1980s to date. I argue that there is a \"before\" and \"after\" i n the image o f the Argent inean immigrant , and that the 2001 collapse marks the transit ion point, something that, due to the temporal l imitat ions o f Re t i s ' study, escaped her analysis. Be tween 1985 and 2000, news on Argen t ina ma in ly covered the jud ic i a ry processes against people responsible for po l i t i ca l repression dur ing the late 1960s and the 1970s, the corruption o f the Argent inean po l i t i ca l class, and later o n (1989) the causes and consequences o f the hyperinf la t ionary crisis . Throughout this per iod the news appeared m a i n l y i n the International and E c o n o m y sections o f the major Spanish newspapers. T h i s helped construct the image o f Argen t ina as a developing country far ahead o f its L a t i n A m e r i c a n neighbours. A s the economic decl ine o f the country sharpened i n 2001 , news about Argen t ina mushroomed i n the E c o n o m y section o f Spanish newspapers. Interestingly, the concern about Argen t ina ' s economy was paral leled b y a g r o w i n g discuss ion o f Spanish companies ' involvement i n the cris is and the ways that this imp l i ca t i on could impact the relationship between the two countries. Be tween the l ines, it is easy to read a sense o f guilt for the betrayal o f a long-term al ly . In June, an article in El Pais informed readers that the Argent inean Parl iament considered passing a decree to b l o c k the wi thdrawal o f Spanish companies from the country (\"Argent inean M P s threat to b l o c k Spanish investments\", G a l i n d o , 1/6/2001). The tension bui l t up as Spanish investors retreated from Argent ina , t r iggering violent attacks on Spanish private and pub l i c property. In June, several articles referred to a general strike - o n e o f the many that w o u l d happen -w h i c h was especial ly virulent against Spanish owned property (\"The general strike i n Argen t ina becomes a day against Spanish [private] companies\" , R a l e a and A r e s , 83 6/9/2001). A n article unambiguous ly t i t led \" G o away Gallegos , thieves\" ( A . C , 6/9/2001) described some o f what happened: T h e wa l l s o f the bui ld ings i n Buenos A i r e s identif ied w i t h Spanish capital col lect demonstrators ' anger w i th spray paintings. \" O l l a s popu la res\" 4 3 happened i n front o f the [Spanish] banks headquarters and companies (. . .) . W i t h signs glued onto the fences (...) they also threw eggs and stones at one o f Te le fonica ' s headquarters i n Argent ina . In the press release by the U n i o n [which organized some o f the demonstrations] cou ld be read: \"the fight w i l l continue unt i l the Spanish state assumes its responsibi l i ty\" (author's translation) N e w s i n the f o l l o w i n g months talked about the Spanish government 's intense efforts to main ta in Spanish investments i n Argent ina , but also o f private companies that wi thdrew from the country. T h e I M F offered Argen t ina a loan i n return for the implementa t ion o f a strict structural adjustment program, w h i c h resulted i n escalating v io lence and rampant poverty. Bu t no one understood the ful l extent o f the cris is un t i l the very last days o f the year 2001, when the economy col lapsed. T w o shifts took place on the m e d i a coverage i n December , 2001: first, as the extent o f the cris is became clear, coverage o f the involvement o f Spanish capital i n the cris is was less prominent: the situation was too severe for Spa in to take responsibi l i ty for it. Second, as the po l i t i ca l relations w i t h Argen t ina settled, attention shifted towards the impact o f the cris is on the populat ion. M o r e and more news about A r g e n t i n a talked o f starving chi ldren , organized assaults on supermarkets and trucks transporting cattle, and soaring levels o f pover ty - a l l images o f a quasi c i v i l war that brought up memories o f Spa in ' s o w n post-war per iod. T h e situation d id not improve m u c h for a l o n g t ime: a year after the \"cor ra l i to\" the Argent inean Statistics Institute reported that 50 percent o f the popula t ion l i v e d under the pover ty l ine and 27.5 percent o f urban dwellers were indigent ( E F E , \"Pover ty strikes one out o f two Argent ineans\" , 11/17/2001). In 2002 the 4 2 Spaniards are (pejoratively) known as Gallegos in Argentina, due to the fact that a high percentage of Spanish immigrants were from the Community of Galicia, in the Northwestern tip of the Iberian Peninsula. These immigrants are generally perceived as very hard workers, but ignorant and closed-minded. 4 3 The ollas populares (\"people's pots\") were demonstrations where citizens would go and bang their pots in front of government buildings, asking for political responsibilities and the end of the crisis. 84 newspapers stated that i n a country where cows were far more numerous than people (37 m i l l i o n people, more than 50 m i l l i o n cows) at least 40 percent o f the Argent inean popula t ion l i v e d under poverty levels and 20 percent o f the popula t ion o f w o r k i n g age was unemployed . The same article, t i t led \"rats, toads, cats, and horses to eat i n an Argent inean ne ighbourhood\" ( E F E , 6/6/2002) described new and intense forms o f poverty. The pictures that accompanied some o f the news shared the dramatic tone o f the articles, showing crowds assaulting supermarkets or begg ing for food; mass ive demonstrations w i t h thousands o f Argent ineans banging their pots and pans i n front o f the P i n k H o u s e ; 4 4 ch i ldren d y i n g o f starvation i n the northern region o f T u c u m a n ; and violent confrontations between the c i v i l popula t ion and the national security forces i n a l l major urban areas. The coverage o f the cris is b y the Spanish m e d i a helped shatter the former image, rooted i n the 1950s, o f Argen t ina as a dreamy land o f abundance. Instead, i n the popular imagina t ion Argen t ina m o v e d away f rom Europe and closer to L a t i n A m e r i c a ; i n other words , the country and its inhabitants n o w fel l under the label o f the \" T h i r d W o r l d \" . In i t i a l ly the press pa id l i t t le attention to f lows o f migra t ion from A r g e n t i n a to Spain . A rare article appeared 2001 , just a few months before the \"corra l i to\" , was t i t led: \"The Indianos return home\" . It col lected the testimonies o f some Argent ineans w h o , i n v i e w o f the worsen ing economic situation i n their country o f o r ig in and tak ing advantage o f their Spanish ancestry, were consider ing migra t ing to Spain . A w o m a n in terv iewed b y the journal is t said: I just have the last savings left and I don ' t want to gamble them here [in Argent ina] . In Spa in , yes. There I w i l l put the m o n e y to work , and I k n o w I ' l l be w e l l off. I a m go ing to open a restaurant; I am i n contact w i t h m y cousins i n Barce lona and A l i c a n t e . I k n o w the concerns there are different, y o u don ' t have to w o r r y about your pocket money. Here things are not getting any better, and I am fed up o f seeing decay. I have sold everything: a house, the g y m . I bought a smal l apartment, but I w o n ' t come back. L u c k i l y , m y dad left the c i t izenship issue solved before he died. A n d there [in Spain] , i f y o u show the burgundy passport, they don ' t even open it to see i f your face is the same as the picture. ( G i a r d i n e l l i , 4 /1 /2001; author's translation). The Casa Rosada is the governmental palace. It is located in downtown Buenos Aires and was one of the strategic centres for demonstrations during the 2 0 0 1 crisis. 85 The article was r ich w i t h references to the cardinal points o f Argent inean immigra t ion to Spain around 2001 that w i l l be further explored in chapter V I : an i l l u s i o n o f overseas prosperi ty ( impl ic i t throughout the article is the idea o f Europe as par t ia l ly responsible for such wealth); the key importance o f f ami ly networks i n the migra t ion project; the despair and hopelessness that triggers the decis ion to permanently m o v e elsewhere; and the benefits granted b y \"the burgundy [Spanish] passport\". Argent inean immigra t i on was described as emigrat ion that returned to its origins - Argent ineans were the indianos, the chi ldren and grandchildren o f the nation c o m i n g back home. Later articles used the same underpinning assumptions and bui l t on the idea o f \"return\". T h e news expla ined the increase o f Argentinean immigration as a consequence o f the economic cris is , and expressed concern for the endless l ines Argent ineans endured i n Spanish Embassies and Consulates i n order to obtain their passports. Argent inean immigrants were described as \"young , enterprising, and capable (...) artists, intellectuals, psychiatrists , architects, advertisers\", or as \"older Spaniards (...) who had to leave the country dur ing the c i v i l war\" (\"Spain, the p i b e ' s 4 5 dream\", M u n o z , 1/13/2002; author's translation). A year after the cris is , another article tit led \"The motherland forgets her ch i ld ren\" supported the Argent inean communi ty ' s complaints that the Spanish government was not respecting its bilateral treaties w i t h Argent ina . T h e y were l o o k i n g for E ldorado and expected to f ind a country o f open doors, but so far they 've o n l y received slams. \"The Spanish government is act ing miserab ly w i t h Argent ineans. D o n ' t they have memory? T h e y ' v e forgotten [our] cultural ties and the opportunities that Spaniards enjoyed there\", ( E l M u n d o , 11/15/2002; author's translation) The representation o f Argent inean immigrants as relatives - a direct consequence o f the former Spanish co lon ia l practices and overseas migra t ion - and the compar i son between h o w Spaniards where received i n Argen t ina when they migrated and h o w Argent ineans are received nowadays stands i n sharp contrast to the coverage o f other L a t i n A m e r i c a n migra t ion f lows. T h e g rowing evidence that Spanish border off ic ials are sending Argent ineans back home is described i n the press as \"outrageous\", as it contrasts 4 5 See footnote 41 in this chapter. 86 w i t h the b e l i e f that Argentineans deserve better treatment. A n interviewee elaborated on this, and said that these opinions were shared b y some po l ice officers who w o u l d do what was w i t h i n their reach to avoid Argentineans be ing refused entry or depor ted . 4 6 Other interviewees said they were aware that immedia te ly after the cris is , i n 2002, the M i n i s t r y o f the Interior gave orders to border officials to be lenient i n the control o f immigrants from Argen t ina ( lawyer 1, l awyer 2). G o i n g back to the press, the med ia is recently reversing this tendency to treat Argent inean immigra t ion as separate from other L a t i n A m e r i c a n and non-European f lows. A s the vo lume o f news specif ical ly on Argent inean immigra t ion decreased, more and more articles present Argentineans as immigrants (a g rowing number o f articles use that term to refer to Argentineans, instead o f \"returnee\") and as accompl ices i n cr imes w i t h other L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrants: cr imes such as tax evasion, human smuggl ing , document forgery, and so forth. The occasional publ ica t ion o f articles that portray Argent ines as returnees contrasts w i th the increasing tendency to represent these immigrants as outsiders, and the tension between the two representations o f Argent inean immigra t i on - one that is special and Spa in ' s o w n ; another that is foreign and problemat ic - tends to be solved i n benefit for the latter. It is becoming c o m m o n for Argent ineans to be portrayed i n the press as neither r i c h nor cousins, but s i m p l y as \" immigrants . \" POLITICAL D ISCOURSE It isn't just about the 240,000 Spaniards - most of them, at the same time, Argentineans - who live in Buenos Aires (the [Spanish] Consulate here is, according to its activity, the third Civil Registry in Spain) with no need of a psychoanalyst to solve their identity dilemmas. It's something much more sophisticated and deeper. Of course, there are huge differences between us [Spaniards and Argentineans] (...) but it's impossible not to recognize oneself, as if in a mirror, sometimes distorted, in the Argentinean people. One has to acknowledge that the Hispano American community, diverse, unequal, exists with 4 6 This interviewee discussed some practices that he described as \"normal\". For example, he admitted that he had \"put the file [of an Argentinean student who was not meeting the requirements to stay] at the bottom of the heap of files to be processed\" hoping that the final resolution would come too late and the student could stay. 87 all its power, and that, with Benedetti, in a globalized world, \"arm in arm we 're much more than two. \" (Rafael Estrel la , Spanish Ambassador i n Argent ina , i n his personal b l o g http://estrella.lamatriz.org; 1/24/2007). W h i l e the media tends to carefully identify immigrants ' nationality, Spanish pol i t ic ians tend to make m u c h rougher dist inctions, d rawing the boundary on ly between general immigra t ion and L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigra t ion . A m o n g pol i t ic ians , what is interesting is the gap between the tenns that frame the general immigra t ion debate and those used for L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigra t ion ; references to the Argent inean c o m m u n i t y i n part icular are scarce. T h e discuss ion in one o f the panels o f a l aw conference he ld i n M a l a g a i n 2 0 0 6 4 7 provides a good example o f the distance imposed between Lat inos and al l other immigrants . O n a w a r m Thursday night, four men sat onstage around the table to talk about the challenges that immigra t ion posed to contemporary Spain : two elected pol i t ic ians from the social ist party, a representative o f a large un ion , and an academic. In a four-minute introduct ion, the discussant opened the conversation on \"the challenges o f immigra t ion . \" In that t ime, he ment ioned the w o r d \"chal lenge\" once; the expression \"the problem(s) o f immigra t ion\" , nine t imes; and \"concern\" three times. W i t h this, he set the tone for the discuss ion on immigra t ion and the poss ible actions that Spa in and Europe cou ld take i n order to solve them. M a y b e not surpr is ingly, three o f the panellists had very bleak pictures o f immigra t ion to share w i t h the audience: immigra t ion was framed i n terms o f security threats, emerging rac ism, and unfair compet i t ion w i t h native workers . A l l panellists made references to other European countries (France, Germany , the U K ) to illustrate that increasing immigra t ion cou ld on ly lead to trouble. D o n Fernando P igna te l l i y M e c a , a member o f the Centre for A d v a n c e d Studies i n International H u m a n Righ ts l aw, member o f the R e d Cross , and ju r id i ca l co-advisor at the M i n i s t r y o f Defence was the on ly speaker who regarded immigra t ion w i t h o p t i m i s m : he expressed his conv ic t ion that \"the topic o f immigra t ion must be approached f rom a posi t ive perspective\". H e ment ioned some o f the ways i n w h i c h immigra t ion benefited Spain , a country otherwise doomed economica l ly and soc ia l ly due to the rapid ag ing o f 47 Semana Juridica Malacitana, November 2006. Conference organized by the Law School, Malaga University. 88 the native population. The army, he said, had been working since 2002 4 S to improve the conditions in which foreigners could join the professional army, increasing the percentage of foreigners that could be employed and the forces that they could jo in, and allowing them to have long-term contracts. These tendencies crystallized in new legislation passed by Parliament in 2004 and 2006, where foreign workers in the army were given a similar status (in terms of employment rights) as nationals. Only at the very end o f his talk did it become clear that he was not talking about all immigrants: Recently, the law 8/2006 (...) allows [foreigners] first to enter the three armies; second, they can sign a contract renewable up to 6years. It even allows them all this (...) under the same conditions as those for Spaniards. This is real integration. The only requisite is that they are legal residents in Spain (...). O f course, it is limited to nationals of those states with traditional, or special historical, cultural, and linguistic ties with Spain, this is, Ibero Americans (...). This may be inspired by UK's recruiting system, which allows [the army] to recruit nationals of the Commonwealth and even Ireland. Hum... Why, well, because these people's integration is way easier, it requires less resources, it is more appropriate for them, and no doubt it's easier for these people to understand their constitutional duties as members of the armed forces. [Emphasis added] The fact that the speaker found it \"obvious\" that such efforts towards the full integration o f foreigners into the army should be limited to Latin American citizens demonstrates the strength of mainstream representations that conceive of these immigrants as existing in a border-space between the Spanish \"us\" and the foreign \"other\" - they are almost Spaniards. Furthermore, previous European experiences (in this case, the U K ' s ) justified such discrimination. Support for this position towards Latino immigrants often crosses political lines in the Spanish public discourse. A closer look at the terms that frame the political debates can be of great help here - in particular, the concept of \"Ibero America\". In everyday life, only the government uses this term in Spain, while Hispano America or Latin America are preferred in other realms such as the press and informal conversations. The choice of the term - which may just be based on tradition - carries a heavy burden. Whi le it is true 4 8 This speaker was referring to the Law 32/2002, from July 5, \"regarding the Personnel regime of the [Spanish] Armed forces, in order to allow foreigners access to the position of professional military in troops and navy\". 89 that a l l three terms (Ibero A m e r i c a , H i spano A m e r i c a , and L a t i n A m e r i c a ) reference Spa in ' s co lon iza t ion o f the A m e r i c a n continent, the term \"Ibero A m e r i c a \" was heav i ly used b y co lon ia l authorities to refer to the territories under Iberian rule (i.e. under the control o f either the Spanish or the Portuguese authorities). It was pn those grounds that the emerging independent states o f the 19 t h century opted instead for more neutral terms such as L a t i n A m e r i c a or Hispano A m e r i c a , w h i c h defined a trans-national cultural commun i ty but severed f rom a tradit ion o f the Spanish imperial is t government (for a d iscuss ion o n this topic, see Rojas M i x , 2004). The surv iva l o f the term in contemporary Spanish p o l i c y circles suggests memories o f a past o f co loniza t ion , w h i c h cou ld - and does - translate into pat roniz ing attitudes towards L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrants . T h i s uncovers the arrogance w i t h w h i c h Spanish pol i t ic ians approach L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigra t ion - and more generally, a l l immigra t ion from the g lobal South. T h i s was clear i n the declarations o f the President o f the Na t iona l F o r u m for the Soc ia l Integration o f Immigrants i n a radio interview some years ago: \" [Spain ' s ] superior mora l i ty rests on human digni ty . W e have thought that a l l the people are the same but this doesn't w o r k the same i n any tribe [sic] . . . the immigran ts ' ch i ldren have to be l ike ours, they have to learn the same and eat the same.\" ( M i k e l A z u r m e n d i quoted i n B e l e n A g r e l a , 2002, p. 17; author's translation). T h e comment w o u l d stay w i t h i n the rea lm o f the anecdotal, i f not for the fact that A z u r m e n d i was at the t ime the person i n charge o f des igning and implement ing the national p lan for the integration o f immigrants ( G R E C O ) . It is not surpris ing then that his o w n ethnocentric assumptions and his be l i e f that cul tural ass imila t ion is the appropriate integration strategy informed G R E C O ' s pol ic ies . In short, the terms i n w h i c h Spanish pol i t ic ians frame immigra t ion are first, condescending; and second, marked ly pro-assimilat ionist . In this context o f reception it should come as no surprise that i n the hierarchy o f immigrant otherness that classifies immigrants b y their or ig ins , L a t i n A m e r i c a n s are considered the \"preferred immigrants o f 2 1 s t century S p a i n \" (Izquierdo Escr ibano, 2004). Argentineans are the first among L a t i n A m e r i c a n s , because they are imagined as the most s imi la r to \"us\" (or to what \" w e \" want 90 to be): not on ly are \" they\" Hi span ic (shared history, culture, re l ig ion , and language), and have European descent (i.e., they are white) , but they also fit the stereotype o f the mode l immigrant (urban, sk i l l ed , and enterprising). In summary, the discourse o f Spanish pol i t ic ians marks a clear preference towards L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrants , and especia l ly to a mode l o f immigra t ion that fits the popular representation o f the Argent inean immigrant communi ty . T h i s discourse impacts general images o f immigra t ion , w h i c h show a marked preference for L a t i n Amer i cans over other immigrant communi t ies . C O N C L U D I N G R E M A R K S : A H I E R A R C H Y O F O T H E R N E S S (II) T h e interaction between Spaniards and the Argent inean immigrant popula t ion i n Spa in is mediated to a great extent b y a series o f images and stereotypes resul t ing f rom the col lec t ive m e m o r y o f past interactions and the da i ly representations o f the group i n popular discourses. In this chapter, I have brought together these images as they are re-produced in da i ly conversations, the media , and po l i t i c ians ' speeches to understand the m a i n characteristics o f the mainstream representations o f Argent inean immigrants i n Spa in since 1985. M y conversations wi th Spaniards and wi th Argent ineans w h o have l ived i n Spa in for two decades or longer showed the stabil i ty o f the representation o f the Argent inean as a returnee, as an almost-Spaniard. Co l l ec t i ve memories o f Argen t ina as a land o f prosperi ty that helped Spain i n times o f hardship (e.g. after the Spanish c i v i l war) and the images o f the indiano, the \"cous ins\" who are s t i l l overseas, and the general perception that Argent ineans are \" a distorted image o f Spaniards\" keep a l ive the representation o f the Argent inean as a returnee. T h e Spanish po l i t i ca l class re-reproduces s imi la r images i n their speeches. Po l i t i c ians tend to insist on the existence o f a sisterhood o f Spanish nations - a commun i ty o f history, culture, language, and re l ig ion that spreads across national borders o n both sides o f the At lan t i c . The memories o f a golden and long gone past o f Spanish co lon ia l power emerge strongly i n the language and attitudes o f Spanish pol i t ic ians . La t inos are perceived i n this discourse as cul tural ly closer and easier to assimilate than other immigrant groups, an image w h i c h is promoted i n the cultural fundamental ism that 9 1 characterizes Spanish po l i t i ca l d i s cou r seon immigra t ion . O f a l l La t ino immigrants , Argentineans are presented here as the fittest immigrant group for assimilat ion into the Spanish nation. Thus , they enjoy a pos i t ion o f pr iv i lege i n the hierarchy o f immigrant otherness that exists i n the Spanish context. F i n a l l y , the med ia coverage o f Argen t ina i n Spa in since 1985 brings some shadows to this image. I argue that the representation o f Argen t ina and its ci t izens went through a turning point dur ing the 2001 economic collapse, also k n o w n as the \"corra l i to\" . I f pr ior to that date Argen t ina was perceived as a land o f prosperity steadily approaching the developing w o r l d , after 2001 it became associated w i t h the T h i r d W o r l d . The representation o f Argent inean immigrants i n Spa in experienced a s imi la r turn, and despite the persistence o f the image o f the Argent inean as a returnee who comes back to his or i her motherland, there is n o w an increasing tendency to assimilate this group into the broader L a t i n A m e r i c a n and general immigran t populat ions. M o r e and more often, Argentineans appear i n the Socie ty section o f the Spanish newspapers associated w i t h other immigrants i n c r imina l activities. In short, the popular and pub l i c discourses i n Spa in - interpreted through interviews, the media , and po l i t i c ians ' speeches - y i e l d a hierarchy o f otherness that matches the one created through the national integration and ci t izenship regimes analyzed i n chapter I V . The image o f Argent ineans as returnees and as the group w i t h the strongest h is tor ica l , b lood , and cultural ties to the Spanish nat ion grants them a pos i t ion o f pr iv i lege i n this hierarchy. H o w e v e r , this pos i t ion o f p r iv i lege that Argent inean immigrants enjoy today as \"returnees\" is not secured, as recent events i n Argen t ina and the lower soc io-economic profi le o f newer immigrants f rom that country tend to b r ing Argent ineans closer to the broader L a t i n A m e r i c a n and general immigrant populat ions. 92 CHAPTER VI: EXPERIENCES OF IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP Yo adivino el parpadeo de las luces que a lo lejos van marcando mi retorno... Son las mismas que alumbraron con sus palidos reflejos hondas horas de dolor.. Y aunque no quise el regreso, siempre se vuelve al primer amor.. La quieta [vieja] calle donde el eco dijo tuya es su vida, tuyo es su querer, bajo el burlon mirar de las estrellas que con indiferencia hoy me ven volver.. Volver... con la frente marchita, las nieves del tiempo platearon mi sien... Sentir... que es un soplo la vida, que veinte anos no es nada, que febril la mirada, errante en las sombras, te busca y te nombra. Vivir... con el alma aferrada a un dulce recuerdo que lloro otra vez... Tengo miedo del encuentro con el pasado que vuelve a enfrentarse con mi vida... Tengo miedo de las noches . que pobladas de recuerdos encadenan mi sonar. Pero el viajero que huye tarde o temprano detiene su andar... Y aunque el olvido, que todo destruye, haya matado mi vieja ilusion, guardo escondida una esperanza humilde que es toda la fortuna de mi corazon. I can almost see the flicker Of the lights that in the distance Mark the way of my returning... They're the very ones that lit up, Their reflections pale and misted, Many hours of deep pain. Though return was not what I wanted, First love makes one always come back again. The quiet [age-old] street where once the echo told me: Her life is yours, her love is yours to earn, Under the stars that mockingly look on me, And now in their indifference see me return. Return... with my forehead all wrinkled, My temples turned silver by time's falling snow... To feel... that one's life is a twinkle, Twenty years hardly reckon, And two fevered eyes beckon, In shadows forestall you And seek you and call you. To live... with the soul firmly clinging To one sweet remembrance That makes me weep so. I am frightened of the meeting With the past that is returning To confront my life all over. I am frightened of the nighttimes When my dreams are linked and fleeting And old mem'ries come to stay. And yet the trav'ler who's fleeing Sooner or later must stop on the way... And though oblivion, which destroys all being, Has killed my old hopes, ripping them apart, Yet I keep hidden a humble hopeful glimmer That is the only fortune there is in my heart. Volver (\"Return\"), Argentinean tango. Lyrics by Alfredo Le Pera, translation by Coby Lubliner. 93 In the previous chapters I have explored how the combination of Spain's new experience as a country of immigration, conflicting and rapidly evolving laws in the field, and a generalized feeling of affinity with Latin America (and more specially with Argentina) put immigrants from this country in a paradoxical space - somehow within, somehow without, the Spanish nation-state. In this chapter I wi l l work with the immigrants' own narratives to understand how this context shapes their immigration experiences, and in particular, their social and legal integration. The characteristics of the immigrant sample were discussed in detail elsewhere (chapter II). For this study, I interviewed twenty-five Argentinean immigrants, some of whom were in one degree or another involved with immigrant organizations. The sample was representative of the general Argentinean population in terms of sex ratio, age, geographical distribution, and the heterogeneity of legal status. However, neither the selection method nor the sample size guarantee that the experiences of these immigrants are representative of other Argentineans. Indeed, the uniqueness of each of their experiences shatter the assumption implicit in the sources used so far (statistics, laws, and mainstream discourses): there is not one, but a variety of \"Argentinean migrations;\" there is not one, but many paths to integration as well . Gender, age, legal status, social and family networks, phenotypical characteristics, and education are among the intersections of integration that often arose during the interviews. It is a daunting task to summarize and organize stories of immigration, for it is an all-encompassing experience that colours and modifies the perception of the self and the world around the immigrant. In the interviews we talked about ancestry; the reasons for emigrating to Spain; the process of integrating into a new society; the feelings of being \" i n between\" Argentina and Spain; the several legal statuses that most of these, immigrants went through, and their consequences; and the perception of other immigrant communities i n Spain. We were really talking about being in the world as a gendered and racialized stranger and the struggle to fit in. Most fought this struggle by claiming to belong - by manipulating the same discourse that Spanish politicians use to exclude \"immigrants\". Instead, they constructed themselves as \"returnees\"; the song that opens this chapter became the chorus for many of the interviews. 94 A n important part o f the interviews focused on the experiences o f c i t izenship . Here , w h i l e social and cultural c i t izenship was a g iven for most o f these immigrants (who rarely felt exc luded by Spaniards), the meanings o f legal c i t izenship var ied: it was interpreted as an of f ic ia l recogni t ion o f their feelings o f belonging, an instrument for further integration, or a h is tor ica l debt that Spa in has towards Argent ina . I do not assume that these are a l l , or even the most c o m m o n , posit ions w i th in the Argent inean c o m m u n i t y - but these are the ones that have emerged dur ing m y f ie ldwork. In any case, for the participants o f this study there is a ve ry strong correlat ion between E U ci t izenship and a posi t ive immigra t ion experience, w h i c h explains the density o f the discourse around ci t izenship i n terms that range from the instrumental to the emotional . E M I G R A T I N G , I M M I G R A T I N G , I N T E G R A T I N G : T H E U S E O F S O C I A L A N D F A M I L Y N E T W O R K S . M o s t o f the interviewees o f this study (21 out o f 25) were economic immigrants who had emigrated to Spa in dur ing periods o f economic hardship i n Argen t ina . These immigrants tended to see themselves as \"economic exi les\" : i n their discourses the feelings o f disaffection, despair, and resentment towards the Argent inean state emerged strongly. O v e r a l l , interviewees gave one or several o f the f o l l o w i n g reasons for l eav ing the country: the economic cris is , the lack o f trust i n the po l i t i ca l system, insecuri ty, experiences o f d i sc r imina t ion and, i n a few cases, the search for adventure. T h e reasons for l eav ing were c lose ly related to their integration experience. M a n y participants had gone through a process o f gradual impover ishment p r io r to the col lapse o f the Argent inean economy i n late 2001 . T h e y had to w o r k longer hours or accept second and third jobs , they saw their businesses go bankrupt, or they lost their employment . In general the interviewees described a feel ing o f hopelessness i n a country where a l l \"projects\" were doomed because o f the economic instabi l i ty o f the national economy. D u r i n g the months, and even the years, that this process o f impover ishment lasted they managed to endure unt i l \" someth ing\" happened that triggered a dec i s ion they had been p l a y i n g w i t h , usua l ly for quite a l o n g t ime. T h i s \"something\" cou ld be the b i r th 95 o f a first ch i ld , the loss o f their j o b at a late age (40 or older), the death o f a close relative, a life-threatening experience, or the loss o f a l l savings i n December , 2 0 0 1 . 4 9 F o r those who said that the m a i n reason for l eav ing the country was the economic situation, the term \"project\" (wh ich seemed to refer to any plan a imed at i m p r o v i n g one 's status, f rom repair ing a washing machine to starting an export company) was key . Spain ' s stable economy, backed b y the E U , created a fertile so i l for \"projects\" to grow and happen, something that contrasted w i t h Argent ina . In fact, \"projects\" made emigrat ion wor thwhi le : In Argentina (...) projects are doomed (...). I grew up with my parents always giving up their projects, changing them, because they could never happen, and I grew up with that in mind, that it was not good to have so many ideas and ambitions, because it's impossible economically, it's impossible socially, it's impossible. Except if your family is well off (...). Then talking with some Argentinean friends that were here, some cousins and stuff, what they had planned had actually happened, and they didn't even have to complain!! And for me, that was magic, it was magic, a different thing. And sure, I got here with 18 projects and the 18 happened, more or less, and so I keep making projects every year and they happen. And that's the problem [in Argentina]: money. This country [Spain] is in the EU. Europe is giving like... magic solutions to all [the countries] that belong to the EU. (#3, male , <45, arr ived i n 2002 w i t h Italian ci t izenship). B u t the rationales for emigrat ion generally i n v o l v e d a combina t ion o f factors. T h e lack o f trust i n the po l i t i ca l system was often cited, mos t ly among men. E c o n o m i c instabi l i ty and the entrenched corrupt ion among the Argent inean po l i t i ca l class - not -l i k e l y to change anytime soon - were perceived b y the interviewees to go hand i n hand. A g a i n , there was a lack o f hope, and the decis ion to emigrate was regular ly jus t i f ied as the search for a better future for the next generations. I came after the [2001] crisis. My jobs decreased and my salary was cut down to half (...) Anyways, we were not too bad, but it was a decision mainly to renew ourselves a bit, to change the context of insecurity, and of deception, because of how things work, how the state institutions work, how the elections work, the politicians, and how the politicians who have sunk the country in misery remain in power. After the 2001 chaos, then it seemed that the people had taken the A s a consequence of the crisis in late 2 0 0 1 and the public financial policies forced on the banks, many people lost part or al l their savings. 96 streets and that it was going to be a radical change, and nothing changed at all. (...) Everything is rotten there. The institutions, the politicians, everything is rotten. And that generates inside me, to put it somehow, a lot of violence. So I preferred to step aside, leave, my daughter was six months old and it generates so much violence and anyways it's not going to change, so why tire yourself about that. (#18, male, arr ived i n 2002 through fami ly reunif icat ion and obtained Spanish c i t izenship i n 2006) The cris is further enhanced feelings o f insecurity. There was a v i v i d sense o f phys ica l v io lence: between 2000 and 2002 in Argen t ina , h a l f the members o f the sample had witnessed or been part o f a shooting, had been robbed or k idnapped, had their houses burgled or their cars stolen. T h i s sense o f insecuri ty interacted wi th class, gender, and racia l l ines. W o r k i n g class neighbourhoods w i t h a higher percentage o f v i s ib le minor i t ies were the most c o m m o n locat ions o f these events ( r ich people had private security) and w o m e n usua l ly felt more anxious about their phys ica l security than men . T h e experiences o f insecuri ty for w o m e n were in fact more diverse than for men, f rom racial d i sc r imina t ion w h i c h resulted i n beatings for the w o m e n who had \"darker s k i n \" , to sexual abuse w i t h i n the f a m i l y that worsened w i t h the cris is , to i n most cases, an increased sense o f vu lnerab i l i ty when i n pub l i c spaces. A young w oman , for example, described her anxiety as she m o v e d around the c i ty o f Buenos A i r e s : \"after 10 p m y o u don ' t even stop i n the red traffic l ights, because I 've heard that guys wait to break into the car i f there's a w o m a n d r i v i n g alone\". B u t her toughest experience happened when she m o v e d to her o w n apartment. The day I moved by myself, the next clay ...a couple went into the building where I had just moved and in the hall, when they went into the elevator, there were two people inside, hiding, and they forced the couple to take them into the apartment with a gun. I don't know what they took. It doesn 't matter if they rob you, the problem is if they do something to you... you know what I mean? (...) I remember the panic. I had just moved alone. I mean, imagine two guys take me into my apartment, they can take whatever they want, but if they do something to me, I mean, I... And that's always in your mind, I cannot... like, if now I had my papers, Iwouldn't even hesitate, I'd stay, I feel so much safer here. (#14, female, <45, arr ived i n 2006, undocumented). F o r this and other w o m e n , security had been a m a i n reason for emigrat ion. A more compl ica ted story was that o f a w o m a n , aged 61 , who had been abused as a c h i l d b y 97 her stepfather, and later by her husband. This woman made the decision to emigrate after a failed suicide attempt, taking four of her six children with her. She justified emigration as an escape from continuous abuse from the men around her, an abuse that she interpreted as being deeply entrenched within definitions of manhood in Argentina. Another young woman who was still breastfeeding her baby had been taken to Spain by her parents, who saw emigration as the only escape from their son-in-law's continued acts of abuse. The whole family (parents, daughter, and grandson) had emigrated together and were undocumented. In these two cases the abuse had been long-term, but the decline of the economy made it worse: in a very literal sense, these women saw emigration as the only way to save their lives. These and other women referred to sexism and physical violence towards women as a trigger of their emigration. In their minds, Spain represented an escape to a more egalitarian society - although in these cases their expectations were not fulfilled. The three main reasons that the interviewees gave to justify their emigration (economic hardship, corruption of the Argentinean political class, insecurity and sexism) were perceived as structural rather than transitory. Spain, by contrast, was perceived as a country where the economy was stable (mainly due to the interventions of the E U ) , the politicians were more reliable (or at least more controlled), and there was less violence and sexism. Collective memories of the historical ties between Argentina and Spain, a shared language, a culture perceived as \"similar\", and above all social and family networks were the mediating factors between the pushes in Argentina and the pulls in Spain, facilitating migration. T H E RISING ROLE OF NETWORKS IN THE INTEGRATION PROCESS The emigrants who had left Argentina for economic, political, or security reasons (and often a combination of the three) had been considering emigration for some time, usually for more than a year. This contrasts with the political refugees' experiences, who were forced to leave however they could to go, wherever they could (four in my fieldwork, eight interviewed by Margarita del Olmo, 2001). During their \"periods of reflection\", the migrants had time to contact other Argentinean immigrants in Spain, 98 relatives, and Consulates and Embassies to get information about the possibi l i t ies o f emigrat ing to Spain , and the legal requirements o f do ing so. These in i t ia l contacts were key for the rest o f their migra t ion experience: w i t h no exception, social networks provided r o o m after ar r ival , inf luenced decisions to settle i n one locat ion or another, helped the immigrants find a j o b and their w a y around the ci ty, and guided them through \\ the compl ica ted r igmarole o f paperwork for l ega l i z ing their status. Embassies and Consulates were less useful i n he lp ing immigrants , and stories o f c i v i l servants p rov id ing mis lead ing informat ion were d is turbingly c o m m o n . A s there are de facto no actual channels for legal migra t ion from Argen t ina to S p a i n , 5 0 immigrants either already had ci t izenship (Spanish or Italian) or had nothing, and became undocumented after three months; o n l y one immigrant had benefited from fami ly reunificat ion pol ic ies . In no case had immigrants expected the i c y reception from Spanish government bodies upon their entry i n the country - but i n general a l l felt w e l c o m e d by the populat ion. In this context, the networks became k e y for the surv iva l and integration o f the immigrants . The more recent the immigran ts ' arr ival , the more crucia l was the role p layed b y their networks. T h i s seems to be related to two different processes. The first is the growth o f the Argent inean commun i ty i n Spa in : between 2000 and 2005, it grew signif icant ly , f rom 93,872 to 251,380 members. Therefore, newcomers usual ly had more than just a few acquaintances or distant relatives i n Spain . There seemed to be a pattern o f increasing use o f the networks, b u i l d i n g from the pol i t i ca l refugees (who usua l ly arr ived i n Spa in w i t h no personal contacts), to the economic immigrants who had arr ived i n the 1990s (wi th a handful o f friends), and f ina l ly the newcomers o f the early 2000s (who usua l ly had friends and close relatives i n several Spanish cities). Consistent w i t h network theory, the socia l and economic costs o f migra t ion to Spa in d imin i shed over t ime (Massey et al, 1993). The second process that has made the use o f networks more crucia l for recent arrivals is the increasing d i f f icu l ty for undocumented immigrants to l ive , and more especial ly, to w o r k i n Spa in : po l i t i ca l refugees and immigrants who had arr ived pr ior to 2002 considered that it had been easy for them to f ind work without the proper permits, 5 0 A s mentioned before, the quota system has so far been useless and job offers take more than a year to be processed, i f they are processed at al l . There is no information about the use of family reunification procedures among Argentinean immigrants. 99 w h i l e more recent immigrants said that the h igh fines and threat o f inspections had made employers wary o f h i r i ng undocumented workers . B o t h processes (the growth o f the Argent inean communi ty and the narrowing opportunities for undocumented workers) made the networks vi ta l for newcomers. S t i l l , the characteristics and roles o f these networks var ied greatly. In a few cases the networks o n l y provided shelter dur ing the first weeks after the immigran ts ' ar r ival ; often they went much farther. F o r example, there is evidence o f what one interviewee label led \" regular iz ing marriages\": four participants jus t i f ied previous marriages as \"the on ly w a y \" their friends or short-term partners cou ld regularize their situation i n Spain . ( T w o o f them were w o m e n w i t h Spanish ci t izenship and the other two were men w i t h Italian and Spanish ci t izenship) . A l s o c o m m o n were immigrants who had close relatives i n Spa in (uncles and cousins). These immigrants had it the easiest, since the strength o f their f ami ly ties cushioned them dur ing the first months o f their stay. We came because of economic reasons and to see... other ways of living. And our roots also pulled us. (...) Also my whole family was in Andalusia, and I said, at least emotionally we 're not going to be alone. And they helped us a lot, so much, big time. We arrived on a Saturday, and on Sunday the whole family came [to town] with diaper boxes, they brought clothes [for my daughter], and I'm never going to forget this, when they were getting into the car and I was saying goodbye, my cousin got a handful of one hundred euro bills and stuck them into my handbag. \"For your daughter, for your daughter. \" And it was a whack of money. With that we felt more relaxed, we thought, [our daughter] is going to have all she needs. Because we didn't have a thing, we had the plane tickets and less than a thousand euros, so we had to work (...). Then we stayed at a cousin's vacant apartment for the first six months, we didn't have to pay the rent, and then [my husband] got a job through one of my cousins 'friends. (...) I don't even want to imagine what people who don't have anyone in Spain have to go through. (#19, female, <45, arr ived i n 2002 w i t h Spanish ci t izenship) . T h i s w o m a n ' s experience, although not an exception, is different f rom most o f the other immigrants who had weaker networks i n the country, and less resources. M o r e c o m m o n were the cases when the immigrant had close friends i n Spa in w h o prov ided shelter, food, and guidance for a few months after arr ival and then emotional support for the rest o f their stay. 100 INTERSECTIONS: WORK, GENDER, A N D L E G A L STATUS. E v e n for those who had strong, close networks, the process o f integration was far from smooth. The i r socia l interactions w i t h Spaniards were mos t ly f lu id and they g l impsed famil iar elements i n the traditions and w o r l d v i e w s that they found i n Spain . Howeve r , things changed as these immigrants tried to integrate as workers and saw that their careers i n Argen t ina were not wor th much . Fr iends could help them find a j o b cleaning, de l ive r ing p izzas , or w o r k i n g i n a ki tchen, but when it came to resuming their careers from Argent ina , they found a labour market incapable (or u n w i l l i n g ) to recognize previous educational and professional experience. T h e y also found that the laws changed cont inuously, or even var ied from one po l ice station to the next, m a k i n g it harder for them to have a w o r k permit . W o r k i n g experiences i n occupations that were w e l l b e l o w the immigrants ' sk i l l s emerged as a h igh ly emotional issue that the interviewees struggled to rationalize. Gender p layed an important role i n inf luencing migrants ' experiences i n the Spanish labour market. W o m e n had it hardest: four female participants o f this study were former univers i ty professors w h o had become c leaning ladies upon migra t ion , and had no hopes or expectations to f ind a j o b in their field. W h i l e sad, this was hardly surprising, since these w o m e n be long to a l l three o f the most marg ina l ized categories i n the Spanish labour market: those older than 40, w o m e n , and immigrants . O n l y one o f them was undocumented (although the other two had been previous ly) . O n the other hand, the worst case that I found among Argent inean men was that o f an undocumented immigrant i n Barce lona who w o r k e d at a restaurant as a waiter for 800 euros a month (twice as m u c h as his female counterparts made c leaning houses). In general, more moderate forms o f de - sk i l l i ng were c o m m o n for most o f the immigrants o f the sample. Interestingly, the on ly ones who had a job accord ing to their qualif ications and previous experience were those w i t h Spanish or Italian c i t izenship. One o f the most fascinating cases was that o f an independent singer (by no means a burgeoning profession i n Spain) w h o had seen his career explode since his arr ival thanks to his Italian passport. 101 My experience has been terrific, terrific. I don't know if I've got a horseshoe on my forehead or what, but I had lived 24 years in a way, and suddenly my life changed radically. I arrived with nothing, I had 200 euros, a handful pesetas back then (...) I started working wherever, that's what I 'd always done, and playing music on the side. Because I was an independent singer and composer, I was starting to make my own songs. (...) I left resumes everywhere, and two months after I arrived I recorded my first demo (...), and the demo opened the doors to independent music contests, and the first one I went to at the national level, I won it. (...) You had to have the citizenship and be younger than 30 to participate. (...) And next thing I know, in a concert there were people from [a big multinational music company], and we signed a contract and recorded an album with Ismael Serrano and Ana Belen [two major Spanish singers]. And then I said, \"thanks, Spain. \" (3, male , <45, arr ived i n 2001 w i t h Italian ci t izenship) . Other experiences were not that posi t ive, and even those, w i t h c i t izenship admitted it had taken them \"a w h i l e \" (at least three years) to f ind a job where they felt comfortable. T h e immigrants without ci t izenship, even i f they had a permit, felt that there was a mismatch between the discourse o n the k inds o f immigrants that Spa in wanted (h ighly sk i l led) and the k inds o f jobs that were avai lable for them. T h e y felt that the d i sc r imina t ion i n the labour market acted strongly against them, especially when their qual if icat ions were h igh . / have presented my resume in a million places, and they've never called me. I thought that maybe in private schools, as a tutor, giving talks, as a consultant, and no one gives you the opportunity to do so. And as I was telling you, I am very professional cleaning the house where I work, but sometimes I think, how unfair is this, I enjoy it, but I could be doing something else, right? (#15, female, >45, arrived i n 2006, undocumented; 15 years o f experience as a univers i ty professor i n Argent ina) . It's very hard, I remember [a friend] told me, I can get you a job... cracking stone... or paving the streets, or cutting trees: And I've never done such things: I'm a bank manager! I mean, I work there and in two days I'm in disability because my back is broken, I just can't do it. I don't mean to ... find a job in a high-level managerial position, but at least related to what I know (...) But there's nothing, I've wasted six years sending my resume everywhere, and there's nothing. (#1, male , >45, arr ived i n 2000, regular ized i n the 2005 amnesty; 12 years o f experience as a bank manager i n Argent ina) . When I went to the church to apply for the nanny job, [the employer] asked me: \"which studies do you have, \" and I say, university level. \"Do you know how to 102 use a computer? \", yes, yes. \"Do you know how to read? \" ...yes. \"Can you speak English?\", a bit. \"Do you know how much I am going to pay you? 150 euros a month \" Sure lady, you know what I say? That you can keep looking for a nanny, because you can't count on me. And she blushed and said, \"who do you think you are? How do you dare to talk to me like that!? \". (...) Because when they want to talk about salaries here in Spain we [the immigrants] shrink, see, we do. (...) But that's it, there's nothing better for me, I'll clean houses and paint walls and live here, I've had it.\\#\\l, female, >45, arr ived i n 2002, regularized in the 2005 amnesty and p rev ious ly undocumented; 14 years o f experience as a univers i ty professor i n Argent ina) S i m i l a r experiences were echoed i n v i r tua l ly a l l o f the twenty-five interviews w i t h immigrants . F e w were satisfied w i t h their current w o r k i n g situation, but there was a tendency to interpret it as a consequence o f the mal funct ioning Spanish labour market (segmented, gendered, and rather stagnant) more than to d iscr iminat ion per se. In a l l cases, w o r k emerged as central to immigrants ' experience i n Spain : work opened the doors for regular izat ion (it is wor th not ing that a l l participants who were not E U cit izens or who were not marr ied to one, regular ized their situation through an amnesty), helped them keep their status as an immigrant (wh ich w o u l d be wi thdrawn i f the applicant has not been employed for a certain per iod o f t ime), and eventual ly a l lowed some o f them to obtain Spanish ci t izenship. Thus , the pressure to f ind a job - any k i n d o f job - is not just an economic concern, but a requirement on the part o f the state to remain i n the country. The emphasis on employment and economic integration was a sore spot for many Argentineans, especia l ly those who were better informed about the legis la t ion or were invo lved w i t h immigrant associations. These interviewees (some d f w h o m were not immigrants themselves) considered that the requirement to have and keep employment was a w a y o f b lend ing Argent ineans into the general immigrant populat ion, and a transgression o f at least one bilateral treaty between Spain and Argent ina . T h i s treaty establishes that Argent ineans i n Spa in and Spaniards i n Argen t ina are g iven equal rights to l i ve and ( i f desired) w o r k w i t h i n either 's national territory; the requirement is l imi t ed to some formal paperwork . 5 1 Argen t ina s t i l l respects this legis lat ion, but Spa in does not. Interviewees w h o were aware o f this treaty thought that Argen t ina was not reacting as 5 1 For more on this bilateral treaty see Seploy, Lopez Rodriguez, and Belgrano, (2005), and Coordinadora Estatal de Asociaciones Argentinas en Espana (2005). 103 strongly as it should be - and interpreted it as one more piece o f evidence o f the 52 Argent inean government 's lack o f interest for the wel l -be ing o f its ci t izens. Despi te these experiences o f d iscr iminat ion from Spanish institutions, two o f the interviewees who had prev ious ly emigrated elsewhere (the U n i t e d States and Italy) said that immigrants were m u c h better treated i n Spain (especially when they were undocumented) and that they were not exploi ted as m u c h as they were i n those other countries. P u z z l e d b y their struggles w i th the system, I asked the interviewees whether migra t ion was wor th it and i f they w o u l d do it again: a l l the participants answered w i t h a 53 categorical yes. T h e most c o m m o n reasons g iven were: \"here I can make a difference\", \"I can send money home, and save and b u y a property for m y retirement\", \"I have more freedom, I can go home w a l k i n g in the midd le o f the night and not w o r r y about a th ing\" , \"I can afford sending m y chi ldren to school and to univers i ty\" , \"I don ' t have to w o r r y about los ing m y job , because I k n o w I ' l l get another one\". These just i f icat ions, as w e l l as the reasons g iven for leav ing Argen t ina and their experiences i n the labour market, situate Argent inean immigrants very, very close to other economic migrants. Howeve r , later i n the interviews, clear differences emerged, both i n the w a y Argent ineans are treated b y Spaniards and i n the w a y most o f them perceive themselves as part o f Spanish society. \" E X C U S E M E , BUT I ' M NOT B L A C K \" : A R G E N T I N E A N S ' C L A I M S FOR BELONGING TO THE SPANISH NATION. I think I am integrated. Like, multiculturally speaking I am a part of this society. When I got here, I was not. I remember (...) when I went to the employment office to see if I could find ... some courses or whatever, well, hmmm... there was like a line of immigrants that went all around the building (...). And... well, I skipped it and asked the security guard where should I go, and he answered: \"See this line of people, that's were you have to go. \" But wait a second: I'm not black! \"But some of them are also Ecuadorians, \" but I am not an i n d i o / Anyways, with time I realized that he was right, I'm just like them, or they are just like me, it doesn't 5 2 Margheritis (2007) has written an illuminating article on the Argentinean government's efforts to reach its citizens in Spain. The interviewees were generally aware of at least some of these efforts, but considered them \"insufficient\". There was a lot of distrust and resentment towards the Argentinean political class. 5 3 The expression (\"to make a difference\" or \"to make an economic difference\") means to be able to earn more and save more than one would in Argentina. 104 matter a dime. (#1, male, >45, arrived i n 2000, regular ized in the 2005 amnesty and prev ious ly undocumented). A s i n the case o f this immigrant , most Argent ineans that I in terviewed refused to see themselves as \"real immigrants\" - i.e., they d id not see themselves i n the pervasive image o f immigra t ion described i n chapter V . E v e n when they had absolutely no b l o o d ties w i th Spain, they conceived themselves as \"returnees.\" F o u r m a i n reasons account for this refusal to situate themselves w i t h i n the general immigrant populat ion: they d id not feel discr iminated against b y the loca l popula t ion (though they perceived this happening to other immigrants) ; they d i d not feel part o f the L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrant communi ty ; they were white and cou ld c l a i m to be European b y ancestry and fami ly name (a fact that al l o f them admitted opened many doors i n Spain); and many o f them actual ly enjoyed Spanish or Italian ci t izenship. In other words , the \" immigran t s\" that pol i t ic ians and the media talked about had nothing to do wi th them. T h e lack o f experiences o f d iscr imina t ion was remarkable. O n l y w o m e n w o r k i n g i n domestic service reported hav ing felt rejected b y po l i ce officers, real estate agents, and their o w n employers, and i n their accounts it became obvious that the d iscr imina t ion happened after they had been identif ied as \" immigrants . \" Th rough compar ison w i t h other immigrants ' experiences, several interviewees acknowledged that be ing whi te helped them avo id the label o f \" immigran t . \" The few times someone's said something referring to my \"origin \" was (...) on the street in an argument, then instead of keeping it quiet I started making a fuss, and then it's typical, \"you ought to be Argentinean \", that kind of thing. However, I have this Dominican friend, and with her I've seen things that never happened to me, but she's not black, she's got dark skin, that's all. (...) And sometimes we've gone to the supermarket and the security guard has followed her to see if she was stealing, or also we went to school to pick up her kids and the other mums thought that she was the nanny. It's a different story. (#11, female, arr ived i n 1992 w i t h Spanish ci t izenship) . T h i s perception o f the d i scr imina t ion suffered b y other L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrant groups m a y trigger the refusal to identify w i t h .the general La t ino popula t ion noted above. A n academic who has done comparat ive research between Argent ineans and Ecuadorians i n M i l a n and Barce lona h ighl ighted that this clear-cut differentiation between 105 Argent ineans and other L a t i n Amer i cans is specific to the Spanish context: according to this researcher, the Latino d imens ion is m u c h stronger i n Italy than it is i n Spain , because, he said, \" i n Spa in we differentiate between Argentineans and Co lombians , Ecuadorians , Peruvians, Chi leans ; i n Italy they just speak Spanish, l i ke the rest o f the L a t i n A m e r i c a n s \" ( A c a d e m i c 1). T h i s researcher and another immigrants that I in terviewed agreed that part o f the reason for the difference was that i n the Italian context there was a sharp dis t inct ion between documented and undocumented immigrants , w i t h the latter be ing total ly marg ina l ized from mainstream Italian society. In such a constr ict ing environment where immigra t i on is strongly st igmatized, Argent ineans d id not occupy a place o f preference: they shared status wi th the rest o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n groups. A c c o r d i n g to this, d i sc r imina t ion is based more on the immigrants ' legal status than on their national o r ig in , w h i c h m a y have forced Argent ineans to look for support w i t h i n and share networks w i t h other L a t i n Amer i cans . In Spain, where Argent ineans have a place o f their o w n , they tend to refuse to a l ly themselves w i th the La t ino popula t ion and instead m i x w i t h Spaniards. T h i s way, they avo id be ing rac ia l ized as \"La t inos\" . Howeve r , a significant number o f interviewees h ighl ighted that i n Argen t ina there also is an entrenched rac i sm against ind igenous- looking minori t ies . Thus , the tendency to draw a boundary between the Argent inean/se l f and the Lat ino/other m a y be brought f rom the home society. T h i s idea, expla ined c lear ly b y the interviewee quoted be low, was shared b y h a l f the sample. think we Argentineans are very racist, we 're the first discriminators of Latin America, because they [other Latin Americans] have a darker skin colour, for stupid things. (...) I have many arguments about that with other Argentineans. The other day I was here arguing with a woman, I said that [Argentineans are racist] and she said \"no, we 're not racist!\" Because she said that [in Spain] she felt discriminated against. And I said, \"they don't treat me badly, or at least less than we would do if I was an immigrant in Argentina \". But she was not convinced, no, no, and no. And then I said, \"sure, let's see, if a Bolivian woman goes, [to Argentina], what can she do, apart from cleaning low class houses? \" And she said \"oh, well, but you're not going to compare me with a woman from Bolivia!\" I laughed so hard: you 're saying you 're not racist but please, don't compare me with an \"inferior race\"! (24, male , arr ived i n 2002, arr ived through f ami ly reunif icat ion and obtained Spanish ci t izenship i n 2006). 106 Interviewees ra t ional ized such differentiations between Argent ineans and the rest o f L a t i n A m e r i c a n s through appeals to ethnicity (their direct European ancestry and cultural p rox imi ty ) and a discourse o f higher sk i l l s , better education, and middle-class urban' or igins , w h i c h made it easier for Argent ineans to fit into Spanish society. Apa r t from the sympathy perceived on the part o f the Spanish popula t ion and the feelings o f disenfranchisement from the rest o f the La t ino popula t ion, another w a y through w h i c h Argent ineans c l a i m a space for their o w n w i t h i n the imaginary o f the Spanish nation - and outside o f the imaginary o f the immigrant - was history. Sometimes, it was H i s to ry w i t h a capital H : impersonal , general, inter-state history: Spain has forgotten many things. Argentina opened the doors to Spaniards and Italians. They were part of society, but as equals, and Argentina at some point helped. We sent meat when Spain .was. having trouble. Then, well, I don't want to use this argument because I don't like it, because it's like reproaching that I once gave you and now you have to give me, but I think the Spanish government is not being empathetic with the people that at some point, directly or indirectly, have helped Spain. (5, male, >45, arr ived i n Spa in i n 2004, undocumented) A n d sometimes, his tory was more personal: it became stories o f places, people, intimate relations that l i nked ind iv idua ls on both sides o f the A t l an t i c at the leve l o f affections. My grandma raised me, she was from [Galicia], she didn 't want to go to Spain but felt really attached to Spain, and she raised me dancing the jo ta and the muheira [regional dances from Galicia], with our eyes turned towards Spain. My grandpa, every time a Spanish artist came, we would go to the theatre and in the midst of silence he would cry \" V i v a Espana / / \"fighting the tears (organization representative l i v i n g i n Argent ina) . My whole life I've heard stories about Spain, I loved to go to my grandma's place and ask her for the pictures, and spend hours asking her \"who are these people?\", \"what is this?\", hearing them talking about this [Spain], right, and mainly about [the town where I live now], the fairs, the.parties, but they never renounced their lives in Argentina. (...) They said \"gee, we 're living in Argentina yet we spend our lives missing Spain, talking about Spain. \" (...) But when I got here it was really easy for me to adapt to [the city where I live], because... well, the first year I lived with my aunt, and [this city], the geographical, physical place wasn 't strange at all to me, I had spent my whole life hearing about it so I loved it, right, I felt comfortable from the beginning. (#20, female, arr ived i n 2001 w i t h Spanish ci t izenship) . 107 These close-kni t relationships bui l t through His to ry as w e l l as through personal stories supported the conceptual izat ion o f Argent inean migrat ion as a \"return migra t ion .\" E v e n when interviewees had distant or no Spanish ancestry, they tended to interpret their experience w i t h i n the framework o f return migra t ion . Sometimes, i n the lack o f direct f ami ly ties, interviewees turned to deeper feelings o f belonging, such as an immigrant w i t h distant f ami ly ties i n Spa in (a paternal great-grandfather) who said that \" in ternal ly we al l carry a part o f our ancestors, and the b l o o d is where they push us to return to the place they couldn ' t return to\". T h e use o f \" b l o o d \" (conceived as a profound connect ion that runs through fami ly ties) i n the discourse was in fact very strong. Often, \"European b l o o d \" or \"Span i sh b l o o d \" was meant to be a status symbo l in the representation o f Argent ina , support ing the argument that Argen t ina is imagined as more a part o f Europe than as a part o f the rest o f L a t i n A m e r i c a . T o have European b lood was more than just a genetic attribute - attached to it were also some int r ins ic cultural traits that were rarely challenged: Argent ineans, who had \"European b l o o d \" , were more l i ke Spaniards because they had been raised as such. Thus , the l i n k between ancestry, culture, and ethnicity was constructed as unproblemat ic i n a l l but three o f the twenty-f ive conversations. The importance g iven to. the Europeanness o f Argent ineans cou ld be related to pre-conceptions brought f rom Argen t ina . H o w e v e r , there is something else at w o r k here as w e l l . I bel ieve that the context o f Spanish p o l i c y , dominated b y cultural fundamentalism and assimilat ionist discourses (chapter V ) , and the da i ly routine o f integration, characterized b y d i sc r imina t ion towards non-European minori t ies , encourage such fundamentalist arguments. In other words , this E u r o - and ethno-centric discourse fits w e l l w i t h pre-exis t ing rationales o f be longing . T o summarize , Argent ineans i n Spain act ively c l a i m their inc lus ion w i t h i n the rea lm o f the imag ined Spanish communi ty . T h e most c o m m o n arguments i n this discourse are l i teral or extended b l o o d ties w i t h Spa in and, more generally, w i t h Europe (\"we are Europeans\") , and the use o f c o m m o n history (both as a cause o f a shared ethnici ty and as a debt that Spa in has w i t h Argent ina) . The lack o f experiences o f 108 disc r imina t ion in most cases and the possession o f a European passport (usual ly Spanish or Italian) further support these c la ims. Moreove r , c la ims o f be long ing revo lve around the same axis as the off ic ia l mainstream discourses, uncover ing a sophisticated understanding o f the Spanish imaginary o f nat ionhood. T H E MEANINGS OF (LEGAL) CITIZENSHIP. T h e last section gave an idea o f h o w the increasing La t ino popula t ion i n Spa in (chapter III), the na r rowing o f the legal pr ivi leges for Argent inean immigra t ion (chapter I V ) , and the feelings o f affinity on the part o f the Spanish mainstream society (chapter V ) ,have impacted interviewees ' experiences o f immigra t ion and integration into the rece iv ing society. The trends towards the toughening o f immigra t ion l aw and the stricter enforcement o f border control practices have, i n fact, not been able to stop f lows o f undocumented immigrants f rom Argen t ina - instead, these two processes have forced most o f these immigrants into the shadows, m a k i n g them more dependent o n their social networks and the sympathy o f the Spanish populat ion. The strength o f the discourses o f be longing is , at least part ial ly, a reaction against immigran ts ' increased vulnerabi l i ty . T h e on ly w a y to secure a safe pos i t ion w i t h i n Spanish society is through the acquis i t ion o f legal c i t izenship. W e have seen that the norms that regulate access to legal c i t izenship i n Spa in greatly favour L a t i n A m e r i c a n ci t izens and those w i t h first- and second-degree Spanish ancestry (chapter I V ) . H o w e v e r , the appl icat ion o f such laws is deficient, at best; i n some cases there is a clear indifference on the part o f the Spanish government, w h i c h translates into lack o f funding for the agencies that grant the documents necessary for the process and ci t izenship certificates. T h i s inst i tut ional apathy is i n sharp contrast to the importance that legal c i t izenship has for the immigrants . F o r the Argent ineans who participated i n this research, legal c i t izenship encompasses m u c h more than just an of f ic ia l recogni t ion o f the immigran t ' s be long ing to the po l i t i ca l communi ty i n the society o f reception: for them, c i t izenship was emot ional , pragmatic, and i n some cases, perceived as a right. 109 T H E EMOTIONAL B U R D E N OF CITIZENSHIP. Those participants w i t h direct Spanish descent (five chi ldren and eight grandchildren) tended to be emot ional ly attached to their Spanish ci t izenship. That was certainly not a lways the case, but whenever these feelings emerged, they were very strong. M o s t o f the interviewees w h o had acquired ci t izenship through ius sanguini provis ions had done so dur ing their youth, many years before they even thought about emigrat ing. [When I applied for citizenship] I was 15. It was just a sentimental thing, something that I felt I needed to do. (...) It was also thinking that one day I'd like to come to know my roots, because my father, although he'd never met his cousins [in Spain], always mailed and phoned them. (#19, female, <45, arr ived i n 2002 w i t h Spanish ci t izenship) / laugh when they talk about integration here [in Spain], my family [in Argentina] is just the perfect example of perfect endogamy, because my mum and my dad lived three blocks away [before they emigrated to Argentina]. (...) I mean, at home for example, in our family dinners [all but two uncles] are married to Spaniards, most of them Ga l legos (...) and they have a very close relationship with the Galician community, especially the women. They all danced mune i ra [a regional dance], and my mum is the president of the Galician Association in Buenos Aires54, and before it was my grandpa. (...) Then, when Franco died I got citizenship. In my family no one set foot on the Spanish consulate until Franco died. But it was just... normal, you know, just normal [to get the Spanish citizenship]. (#11, female, <45, arr ived i n 1992 w i t h Spanish ci t izenship) . Ano the r interviewee p roud ly j o k e d that he was \"as Spanish as the K i n g [of Spain] , w h o was born i n R o m e . L i k e h i m , I am Spaniard b y bir th , because m y parents inscr ibed m e i n the Consulate as soon as I was b o r n \" (#2, male , >45, arr ived i n Spa in i n 1974 w i t h Spanish ci t izenship) . T h i s sense o f emot ional be long ing was further enhanced b y Spanish po l ic ies towards \"returned migrants .\" These pol ic ies are especia l ly important on the part o f the regional governments. F o r example, a young w o m a n who acquired Spanish ci t izenship This is not the real name of the association. 110 when she was twenty as a \"cautionary measure\" described that after she received her new passport, the government o f the C o m m u n i t y o f L a R i o j a : \"found\" me, and they started to send heaps of communications (magazines, information about scholarships, information about the regional centre in Buenos Aires...). And thus I learnt about a scholarship for descendants of emigrants from La Rioja living abroad. (...) I was shocked by how much effort the government of La Rioja put into it. (...) Today [from Argentina] my relationship with Spain is through the regional centre in Buenos Aires, and when the President of La Rioja comes me and my mum will go to see him. (#32, female, <45, arr ived i n 2004 w i t h Spanish ci t izenship and returned to Argen t ina i n 2005; emai l interview). F r o m the national government the recrui t ing act iv i ty seems to be less intense, but there are pol ic ies , such as subsidy programs, that help \"returnees\" (i.e., descendants o f Spanish emigrants who are Spanish by birth) integrate into Spanish society. Three o f the interviewees had benefited from such pol ic ies , and recognized that h a v i n g returnee status had helped them integrate economica l ly . M o r e importantly, it made them feel w e l c o m e d b y the authorities. T h e discourse o f emotional attachment to c i t izenship resonated over and over i n the interviews w i t h the chi ldren o f Spanish emigrants (who i n a l l cases had been raised b y two Spanish parents). However , it was less c o m m o n among grandchildren o f Spanish emigrants, and affective attachments among immigrants who had obtained Italian c i t izenship through ius sanguini p rovis ions (five cases) were hard ly mentioned. A l l interviewees, except for the chi ldren o f Spaniards, conce ived o f legal c i t izenship as more o f a pragmatic issue - an instrument towards fu l l integration. P R A G M A T I C CITIZENSHIP. M o r e often than not, legal c i t izenship (whether it was Spanish or Italian) meant the end o f a precarious situation: l i v i n g w i t h immigrant status. 5 6 M o s t o f the interviewees Citizenship legislation does not allow adults to acquire citizenship through ius sanguini. In Argentina citizens become of age at 21, and this woman acquired it just before the deadline thinking that she might want to emigrate to Spain or any other country of the E U at some later point. Ill d id not feel that h a v i n g a Spanish or Italian passport w o u l d change their identities, but they equated status as a legal c i t izen w i t h freedom, increased opportunities to grow in Spain , the chance to participate more act ively in the pol i t i ca l arena, and the end o f the endless r igmarole that dominates the life o f the immigrant . In general, a l l the participants w h o d i d not have ci t izenship planned to apply for it as soon as they could . F o r example, this interviewee shared the op in ion that c i t izenship w o u l d make l ife easier without cha l lenging their loya l ty to their homeland. First, I can work for the government. And then, today, as a resident, there are certain requirements that I have to meet, right? For example, to renew my permit the first year I must have been working full time for six months within a year and paid my taxes. And now, to renew [the residency] for two more years as well. Maybe those are minimum requirements (...), but ... it's that kind of thing that you, a national, don't have to meet those requirements, you 're a Spaniard. And also you can vote. (...) Besides it doesn 't change the fact that I am Argentinean, because I can have dual citizenship, they recognize dual citizenship with Argentina. (#9, male, <45, arr ived i n 2002 and regularized i n the 2005 amnesty) H o w e v e r , when I asked h i m i f he w o u l d feel the same should he be required to g ive up his Argent inean c i t izenship , he repl ied: \" A h , see, that's an u g l y question: never.\" T h i s strong reaction, also vo iced i n other interviews, supports the argument that the Argent inean ci t izenship has a m u c h stronger emot ional burden than the Spanish one, as refusing the nat ional i ty o f o r ig in w o u l d mean a \"betrayal\" o f one's o w n nation. L i v i n g w i t h immigrant status was i n all cases perceived as a precarious, vulnerable pos i t ion that pervades the migratory experience, especial ly among the undocumented. The stress that this vulnerabi l i ty produces can have a very deep impact on immigrants ' l ives . T h e most extreme example o f this that I found dur ing m y f ie ldwork was, once again, the case o f a w o m a n : the stress o f be ing undocumented and without a j o b triggered the abort ion o f her twins when she was already four months into her pregnancy. W h i l e recover ing i n hospi ta l , an Adven t i s t sect recruited her, and to date this cult keeps part o f her meagre mon th ly salaries i n exchange for some bad ly needed 5 6 It is worth noting that the interviewees gave identical value to Italian and Spanish citizenship. Even immigrants with Italian citizenship who could have applied for a change of status thought it was not worth it, because they already had all the rights they wanted to have. 112 emotional support (#29, female, <45, arrived i n 2002, undocumented). Other interviewees had less dramatic, but equally i l lumina t ing experiences to share: For me, obtaining the Italian citizenship was a relief. I was anguished! I felt very uncomfortable, and I couldn 't (...) find a job that was related to my studies. First I had the papers [a study permit] and was working illegally; then I was illegal altogether. (...) Until you don't get a [European] passport the concern is always there. It's like... yeah, a worry, you feel uneasy, you 're restless, because, I don't. know, I was not going to do something crazy and be deported, right? (...) [But] when they give you the [Italian] passport it's like... you forget everything, all that happened, right? It's like a heavy backpack you get rid of, and you 're not thinking about the same thing all the time. I even danced in the Civil Registry in Italy!! (#6, male, <45, arr ived i n 2001 as a student and obtained the Italian c i t izenship i n 2003) B o t h immigrants and lawyers highl ighted that part o f the stress derives f rom the ineff ic iency o f the Spanish bureaucracy and the constant changes i n the requirements for obta ining and renewing permits. (One o f the lawyers said that he regular ly submitted the documents to more than one munic ipa l i ty , i n order to increase the l i k e l i h o o d o f h a v i n g them accepted). O n e immigrant who entered i n 2000 as a tourist, spent a few months undocumented, regular ized i n the 2001 amnesty through a fake j o b offer, became undocumented again i n 2005 because he d id not have a fu l l t ime job , and had successful ly f i led a c l a i m to obtain P o l i s h ci t izenship, summar ized the feelings o f m a n y o f the interviewees: I'll receive the Polish passport soon, and I am sooo pleased to be able to do what I want! [Obtaining EU citizenship through my family] is also a matter of pride, right, I mean they broke my balls [in Spain] with so much paperwork, with the line ups that I had to put up with, and with all the formalities that I have done, and all the money and the time that I have wasted with lawyers and other things, it's like now I can do it through my family, that's much more fulfilling. It's not like... vital for me, but it'll be awesome to be free to come and go, to travel, see, wherever I want to go. (#13, male, <45, arr ived i n Spa in i n 2000, undocumented at the t ime o f the interview). T h i s was the most c o m m o n approach among those w h o were not direct descendants o f Spaniards: for them, obtaining legal c i t izenship was a desired and secure destination. Once there, they w o u l d be able to forget about the government 's 113 requirements, look for a j o b i n a broader labour market, participate i n the pol i t ics o f the communi t ies o f w h i c h they were already a part (some interviewees declared their intention to get i nvo lved at the mun ic ipa l level) , and travel to Argen t ina and w i t h i n the E U as m u c h as they wanted. F o r these immigrants , the less stringent requirements for attaining Spanish ci t izenship that they enjoyed as Argent ineans were considered \"convenient\" but meant nothing for their immigra t ion experience. L i k e any other immigrant group, the lack o f channels for legal migra t ion to Spa in had pushed them into i l legal i ty , and they had to re ly on amnesties meant for the general immigrant popula t ion to regularize their situation. T h i s absence o f support for Argent inean immigrants - and in particular, to grandchildren o f Spanish emigrants - is the m a i n c r i t i c i sm articulated b y at least two associations o f descendants that are not l imi t ed to but are run b y Argent ineans. T h e next section explores h o w these associations, Nietos Esperando ( \"Grandchi ldren W a i t i n g \" , recently re-named International Organ iza t ion o f Descendants o f Spaniards or O I D E ) and Hijos y Nietos de Espanoles argue for the recogni t ion o f ci t izenship as a right for Argent inean immigrants w i t h Spanish ancestry. CITIZENSHIP AS A R IGHT In 2003, when the Socia l i s t party was part o f the opposi t ion, the current Immigra t ion Secretary, D a . Consue lo R u m i , presented a legis lat ive proposal i n Par l iament asking for the modi f ica t ion o f article 20 i n the C i v i l Code . T h i s modi f i ca t ion w o u l d have el iminated the requirement for one year o f legal and continued residence i n Spa in on the part o f the grandchi ldren o f Spanish emigrants to obtain legal c i t izenship. That first proposal was further elaborated i n the promises made b y the Socia l is t party both i n the 2004 electoral campaign i n A r g e n t i n a , 5 7 as w e l l as i n the party 's electoral plat form. Howeve r , when the Socia l is t government came to power i n M a r c h 2004, they back-tracked and to date nothing has changed. T h e two associations ( O I D E and Hijos y Nietos de Espanoles) demand that those promises be fu l f i l led . T h e act ivi ty o f these groups has been intense, and interestingly, the government has not ignored them. Indeed, 5 7 Because of the volume of voters who live in Argentina, Spanish politicians regularly carry out electoral campaigns there. 114 their meetings w i t h elected pol i t ic ians i n top posit ions o f power are continuous (from both the Conservat ive and the Socia l is t party, i nc lud ing the President o f the Government , and several ministers) . T h i s does not mean that the government actual ly responds to their demands - but it is an indicator, that pol i t ic ians are interested i n hav ing the support o f the descendants o f Spanish emigrants. Af ter a l l , these descendants cou ld actually account for 58 a few m i l l i o n extra votes were the article 20 o f the C i v i l C o d e modi f ied . The associations o f descendants form a powerful l obby and are fu l ly aware o f the intricacies o f Spanish history, the hopes it creates, and the ghosts it calls up. A n example o f this is the quote translated be low. It is a fragment o f an open letter to D a . Consue lo R u m i , signed b y one o f these associations. In it, the informed reader w i l l appreciate the . references made to the his tory o f economic migra t ion and po l i t i ca l ex i le to Argen t ina dur ing the dictatorship, the pos i t ion o f Spa in w i t h i n the E U , the mode l set b y the Italian c i t izenship regime, and the compar ison between Franco ' s repression and the current denial o f c i t izenship rights to the grandchildren o f emigrants. Howeve r , these references are so subtle, and the connections constructed i n such a sophisticated manner, that for someone who knows li t t le about Spanish his tory the f o l l o w i n g paragraph w o u l d hard ly make any sense: [The reform o f the C i v i l C o d e to grant Spanish nat ional i ty to a l l grandchi ldren o f Spanish emigrants] is a crucia l h is tor ical opportunity for [the Socia l is t party] to demonstrate h o w a European nation who respects its chi ldren must be governed. M a n y o f these chi ldren left their homeland for the same intolerance that today prevents us, their descendants, to return w i t h the status that w e consider ourselves to have: that o f Spanish ci t izens o f fu l l rights. (Letter f rom Hijos y Nietos de Espanoles to Consue lo R u m i , head o f the Secretary o f Immigra t ion i n Spa in ; par t ia l ly reproduced i n Lukor, 5/5/2005; author's translation). Here again, as i n the c la ims for be long ing explored earlier i n this chapter, h is tory (incarnated i n \"cul tura l t ies\" and \"the history o f previous acceptance o f Spanish immigra t i on i n Argen t ina\" , according to the O I D E ) is used as a k e y argument for the modi f i ca t ion o f the current legis la t ion on immigra t i on and ci t izenship. O n a more According to the representatives of the organizations interviewed for this study, there is no reliable account of how many grandchildren are currently living abroad. 1.15 personal note, a representative of the OIDE expressed her disappointment with the way the government is treating Argentinean immigration, also using history as an argument: ... this treatment that we are receiving harts me. Because I lived through what happened when Spaniards emigrated to Argentina. And... there were problems, but I think it was easier for them. For example, in the 1950s there was a great immigration from Spain. And the only requirement on the part of Argentina was that they had to have a formal invitation from someone in Argentina, and that they settled anywhere but in Buenos Aires. (...) It was a different time, it was a different Argentina, a different Spain, I don't even think my grandmother had a passport, see? But... I don't think Spain is treating its grandchildren right. (OIDE representative 1). There was a tendency among the representatives of this organization and the public communications of Hijos y Nietos de Espaholes to hold up Italian nationality legislation as a model to follow. In this legislation, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of Italian emigrants are entitled to receive Italian nationality automatically (provided that the claim starts with the children of the emigrant and moves on to the youngest relative). Italy's generous citizenship regime helped many Argentineans who wanted to emigrate to Spain to do so with a European passport, and therefore reside and . work within the national territory with rights that are almost identical to those of nationals.59 This positive discrimination towards Italo-Argentineans was interpreted as unfair and illogical by grandchildren of Spanish emigrants, who looked at Italian laws as the model to follow by Spain. Furthermore, the OIDE and Hijos y Nietos de Espaholes, network of Casas Argentinas in Spain claim that the Spanish government is not respecting the law, mainly the Tratado General de Cooperacion y Amistad entre el Reino de Espaha y la Republica Argentina (\"General Treaty for the Cooperation and Friendship between the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Argentina\"), signed in June, 1988. As explained earlier, this treaty requires that following some simple paper work, Spaniards living in Argentina as well as Argentineans living in Spain will enjoy a status equivalent to that of the native 5 9 The interviewees admitted that the Italian laws, although generous in practice, had a limited impact for current emigrants because the Embassies and Consulates are overwhelmed with people who want to obtain the citizenship. For example, the Italian embassy in Buenos Aires currently does not give appointments because all the available officers are busy for the next four years. 116 population. The Treaty is based on three legal concepts (\"preferred nation,\" \"free emigration,\" and \"reciprocity\") that are not being respected (Coordinadora Estatal de Asociaciones Argentinas en Espana, 2005). Not only that, but the Spanish government has also not implemented two channels for legal immigration from Argentina that exist in immigration law: regular quota systems for workers in occupations with a high demand, and a six-month initial work visa for all grandchildren of Spanish emigrants. These two elements of the law are legislated but not implemented, resulting in the assimilation of Argentineans (grandchildren and not) into the general immigrant population. The six-month initial work permit for the grandchildren is actually a major concern for the two organizations that I studied, and eventually it brought a schism between them (OIDE and Hijos y Nietos de Espanoles). While the former accepted initial work visas for grandchildren as a way of \"helping out\" some immigrants, the latter considered these visas as acceptance that Argentinean are \"immigrants\" and not \"returnees\". More importantly, associations of descendants are lobbying that the differentiation between Spaniards by birth and Spaniards by acquisition be eliminated (currently only the first group can pass the nationality to their children through ius sanguini procedures) and that grandchildren's applications follow a separate procedure. The goal of these demands is to eliminate discrimination among grandchildren themselves and to secure the respect of the law. As it is right now, grandchildren's claims are considered regular claims and take at least three years to be processed. Not only that, but there is an evident lack of knowledge on the part of the people who have to accept and submit these claims. For example, the police officer that I interviewed (who is in charge of assessing the nationality claims for a whole Autonomous Community) did not know that there was a specific procedure with lesser requirements for grandchildren of Spanish emigrants. In short, several organizations comprised of descendants of Spanish emigrants are fighting to have citizenship recognized as a right for at least the second-generation descendants of Spanish emigrants; the bulk of these descendants are Argentinean. The associations that articulate their claims demand that citizenship for the grandchildren must be recognized as a right. They base this argument on history, on the citizenship 117 regimes o f other European countries (main ly Italy), and on the existence o f legis la t ion that gives special rights to both Argent ineans and grandchildren (even i f it is be ing systematical ly ignored by the Spanish government). C O N C L U D I N G R E M A R K S : A S S E R T I N G A R G E N T I N E A N S ' P L A C E I N T H E H I E R A R C H Y O F O T H E R N E S S . A series o f assumptions and misconcept ions have led many Argent inean emigrants to choose Spa in as their destination country. These emigrants thought that Spa in , a country who had sent m i l l i o n s o f its nationals to Argent ina , w o u l d w e l c o m e or at least tolerate Argent inean immigra t ion . T h e y based this assumption on col lec t ive memories o f mass migra t ion to Argen t ina from Spain , the cultural p rox imi ty between the two nations, and their European ancestry. T h e reasons w h y the in terviewed immigrants left Argen t ina show a process that is consistent w i th other economic migrat ions: they left because the economic situation prevented them from advancing i n their goals, because they felt unsafe i n a context o f increasing v io lence w h i c h worsened after the economic collapse, and because they saw the Argent inean po l i t i ca l class as corrupt and untrustworthy. A l s o , l i ke other economic migrants, their m a i n goal was to improve their opportunities as workers . Argent ineans ' d i f f icul ty i n integrating w i t h the labour market and their heavy (and increasing) rel iance on socia l networks further contribute to the parallels between this and other i n c o m i n g f lows o f economic migra t ion . The uniqueness o f Argent inean immigra t ion emerges when w e look at these immigrants ' social and legal integration. Here , the two conf l ic t ing posit ions observed i n previous chapters emerge again: on the one hand, the general popula t ion, the mainstream po l i t i ca l discourse, and the c i t izenship regime support the argument that Argent inean immigra t ion has a place o f its o w n w i t h i n the s y m b o l i c borders o f the Spanish nation; on the other hand, the evolut ion o f immigra t ion laws pushes them into the general p o o l o f immigrants from the G l o b a l South. B u t Argent ineans ac t ive ly refuse this ass imi la t ion and articulate their resistance around a k e y issue: they are not \"economic immigrants , \" but \"returnees\". The maintenance o f this discourse is crucia l and general ized among the 118 sample, although some groups insist on it more than others.60 Most of the Argentinean interviewees used history and their European ancestry to claim inclusion into die imagined Spanish community. Furthermore, they appropriated the public discourse and highlighted the close fit between the declared \"desired immigration\" and the profile of the Argentinean community. . Important in this construction of the Argentinean immigration as \"return migration\" is the refusal to join ranks with the broader Latin American population. Latin American immigration tended to be constructed in the participants' discourse as the opposite of what Argentineans are: they are uneducated, mostly of rural origin, visibly different, and more distant from \"the Spanish way of being\". I argue that this attitude has to be seen more as a defence strategy than as sheer racism: in a context where immigration is first racialized and then discriminated against, avoiding association with the closest visible immigrant minority is a way of guaranteeing one's own safe position. For these immigrants, legal citizenship emerged as a \"haven\" from the precariousness of immigrant status. Given the strong correlation between citizenship and well-being,61 the density of the discourses around citizenship and the variety of meanings attached to it should come as no surprise. In the interviews, citizenship emerged as an institution that harbours deep feelings of belonging to the Spanish nation, an instrument towards successful integration, and a right. Moreover, citizenship is a battlefield for associations that work for the protection of Spanish emigrants' descendants' rights. The strongest lesson to learn from the interviews that I carried out in Spain is that Argentinean immigrants are not passive recipients of the definitions and categories imposed on them by the state: they accept, resist, subvert, and lobby for and against specific legislation. The main instrument in their struggle is the construct of Argentinean immigration as \"return migration,\" which guarantees a symbolic and legal space differentiated from, and privileged in comparison to other (economic) immigrant groups. For example, Argentineans living in Autonomous Communities with a strong cultural identity clearly differentiated from the central state elaborated this discourse much more strongly, while women perceived as \"immigrants\" because of their occupation (domestic service) did not. 6 1 I have used the level of satisfaction with the current situation declared by the interviewees themselves and the fit between education levels and current occupation as proxies to measure interviewees' well-being. 119 Their general argument is backed up by their warm reception on the part of the civil society, popular discourses that highlight a model migration that corresponds to the profile of the Argentinean population in Spain, and the citizenship regime. 120 CONCLUSIONS \"Have some wine \", the March Hare said in an encouraging tone. Alice looked around but there was nothing on it but tea. \"I don't see any wine \", she remarked. \"There isn 't any \", said the March Hare. \"Then it wasn 't very civilized of you to offer it\", said Alice angrily. \"It wasn't very civilized of you to sit down without being invited\", said the march Hare. L e w i s Ca r ro l l , Alice in Wonderland. Tierra: tierra en la boca, y en el alma, y en todo.62 M i g u e l Hernandez, 1937-1939. The goal o f this thesis has been to understand h o w two interdependent processes -Spa in ' s entry into the European U n i o n ( E U ) and the country 's transformation from a country o f emigrat ion to a country o f immigra t ion - have impacted L a t i n A m e r i c a n migra t ion to Spa in since the mid-1980s . Here I have focused on the immigra t ion and access to legal c i t izenship o f a specif ic group, Argent ineans, i n an attempt to contribute to the theorizat ion o f immigra t ion i n Spa in and to do so b r ing ing space to the centre o f the analysis. I have interpreted the abundant empi r ica l material through a theoretical f ramework that brings together concepts and theories on immigra t ion and ci t izenship f rom across d i sc ip l ina ry and l inguis t ic boundaries, at both the Spanish and international levels . Before summar i z ing the conclus ions o f this study and their impl ica t ions , I w i l l b r ie f ly introduce the w a y i n w h i c h \" i m m i g r a t i o n \" and \"c i t i zensh ip\" - the two m a i n concepts that ground m y research were used, and made to fit the Spanish context. International migra t ion has been conce ived i n this thesis as the m o v i n g o f people across national boundaries. Y e t these boundaries are imagined as contingent, not absolute: they are the result o f the moderniza t ion o f pol i t ics (Chakrabarty, 2000), or the \"nat ional order o f things\", or the order ing o f people, government, and territories i n nation-states. Nation-states create the i l l u s i o n that the relationship between the i nd iv idua l and the territory is a g iven and pathologize the movement o f people, especial ly refugees and T h i r d W o r l d immigrants ( M a l k k i , 1992). Wi thou t the insti tution o f the nation-state, \"Soil: soil within the mouth, soil within the soul, and within everything\". 121 international migra t ion w o u l d not exist. The emergence o f International Governmenta l Organizat ions ( IGOs) such as the E U does not challenge this somatization o f the migrant, but further constructs spaces o f pr iv i lege for the cit izens o f the G l o b a l N o r t h , w h i l e re inforcing the inst i tut ional ized exc lus ion o f immigrants f rom the so ca l led T h i r d W o r l d . In Spain, two categories are o f special s ignif icance to understand this exc lus ion : one, born from the Spanish popular discourse, is \" immigrant\" , w h i c h refers to the rac ia l ized foreigner f rom less developed countries; the other one, a result o f the Europeaniza t ion o f Spanish immigra t ion laws, is the category o f the third-country immigrant (the c i t izen o f any nation-state outside the borders o f the E U ) . These two categories combined mediate the relationship between Spain (its cit izens as w e l l as its government) and the immigrant populat ion i n the country. In the European and Spanish context, where immigra t ion is st igmatized, po l i t i c i zed , c r imina l i zed , and securi t ized (Huysmans , 2006), national c i t izenship remains and even reinforces its status as a safe haven for the international migrant. In this thesis I have focused o n l y on legal c i t izenship, largely ignor ing its soc ia l , cultural , and economic aspects. L e g a l c i t izenship is the government-sanctioned recogni t ion o f the rights o f a person b y vir tue o f his or her membership to the national pol i ty . M y findings contradict post-national theorists who argue that as we witness the demise o f the nation-state under the auspices o f g lobal iza t ion , national c i t izenship becomes less relevant and new forms o f post-national and egalitarian forms o f membership emerge. Instead, I argue that legal c i t izenship remains key to immigrants ' integration, p rov id ing both a secure pos i t ion w i t h i n Spanish society and the access to the ful l array o f rights administered b y the state (at least formal ly) . C i t i zensh ip , both Spanish and European, s t i l l works as a very strong instrument for exc lud ing specific groups, notably immigrants . T h e increas ingly h i g h barriers that the E U is ra is ing against i n c o m i n g f lows from the T h i r d W o r l d i n fact reinforce the differential access.to resources and rights that already exist between ci t izens and non-ci t izens. So conceived, immigra t ion and ci t izenship have formed the skeleton o f the thesis; empi r i ca l research, obtained through a variety o f methods and sources, has helped flesh it out. T h e m a i n sources used i n the preceding pages are of f ic ia l statistics on the immigran t popula t ion , government documents (notably immigra t ion and ci t izenship laws) , Spanish 122 media , pol i t ic ians ' speeches, and ethnographic f ie ldwork. These sources have a l lowed me to study the evolut ion and prof i le o f the total, L a t i n A m e r i c a n , and Argent inean populat ion; the changes i n immigra t ion and ci t izenship laws since Spain ' s entry into the E U ; the conf l ic t ing representations o f the Argent inean immigrant i n the popular and pub l i c discourse; and the ways i n w h i c h Argent inean immigrants themselves accept, resist, or manipulate the categories that the Spanish state has imposed on them since 1985. The immigra t ion and legal integration o f Argent ineans into Spa in has to be analyzed i n the context o f the rap id ly g rowing and increasingly diverse immigra t ion i n the country since the m i d 1980s and, especial ly, since the m i d 1990s. Spain ' s emergence as the favourite E U destination for third-country immigrants i n recent years (Va le ro , 2006) means a turn o f Spa in ' s long-standing status as a country o f emigrat ion since the 16 t h century. T h i s turn has happened very rapidly , w i t h at least 80 percent o f the current immigrants i n Spa in a r r iv ing i n the last decade ( M T A S , 1996-2006). A large percentage o f the newcomers are ci t izens o f nation-states that were once European colonies . A m o n g those, La t i n Amer i cans are currently the largest and fastest g rowing immigrant group. Gender ratios, age distr ibutions, and settlement patterns o f the n o n - E U immigrant popula t ion i n Spa in support the argument that these are f lows o f economic migra t ion , gravitating towards the areas where immigrant economic niches (agriculture, construction, services, domest ic work , etc.) have a stronger ho ld . In this context, the Argent inean communi ty enjoys the benefits o f a long-standing settlement i n the country (this is arguably the oldest immigrant communi ty i n Spa in , dating from the late 1970s) and the p r iv i l eged his tor ica l , cultural , and personal l inks to the Spanish nation-state and its ci t izens. These l inks have been established through centuries o f mass migrat ions o f Spaniards to Argen t ina , w i t h famil ies s t i l l extended across the two countries, inst i tut ional relations between the Spanish and the Argent inean government, and a perceived sense that Argent ineans are the immigrant group that is e thnical ly and cul tura l ly closest to Spaniards; this explains that Spaniards today consider Argent inean the most s imi la r and desirable immigrant group, ahead even o f other European immigrants ( M . P . , 12/24/2003). The Argent inean immigrant c o m m u n i t y has t radi t ional ly been more successful than other immigrant groups i n securing better 123 posi t ions i n the Spanish labour market by virtue o f the higher educational and professional sk i l l s , its whi te urban midd le class o r ig in , the strong and w e l l established ~ socia l networks, and the legal pr ivi leges that its members enjoy, for example, when they / are to c l a i m Spanish c i t izenship. B u t whether Argent ineans w i l l remain a mode l immigrant group after many o f their pr ivi leges are removed by virtue o f the Europeanizat ion o f the Spanish immigra t ion l aw and the soc io-economic status o f Argent inean immigra t ion to Spa in continues to decrease ( A c t i s and Esteban, for thcoming) remains to be seen. The mainstream favouri t ism towards Argent ineans has for l ong been supported by a legis la t ion that promoted barrier-free immigra t ion o f L a t i n Amer i cans , as w e l l as b y a bilateral treaty that established that Argentineans i n Spa in and Spaniards i n Argen t ina were to enjoy the rights o f nationals, i nc lud ing the waiver o f permits to enter and l i ve in either country. Such inst i tut ional ized posi t ive d i sc r imina t ion towards L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrants and especia l ly towards Argentineans dated from the pre-democrat ic era, when the concept o f the H i span i c C o m m u n i t y (a communi ty o f sister nations related b y history, culture, r e l ig ion , and language) became key for the def ini t ion o f Spanish nat ionhood. The entry into the E U , however , required a change o f al l iances - and, accord ing to the interpretation o f the Spanish legislators, the e l imina t ion o f the treatment o f preference towards L a t i n A m e r i c a n ci t izens i n the immigra t ion laws. S ince 1985 the rap id ly e v o l v i n g legis la t ion i n the field has promoted the gradual r emova l o f the ethnic favour i t i sm towards L a t i n A m e r i c a n immigrants i n the country, i nc lud ing the automatic v i sa wa ive r for ci t izens o f several countries o f L a t i n A m e r i c a since the late 1990s. .The gradual r emova l o f the traditional pr ivi leges for L a t i n A m e r i c a n countries i n the Spanish immigra t ion laws o f the last two decades promote the representation o f L a t i n Amer i cans as outsiders to the Spanish nation-state, as just one more f low o f economic immigra t ion to the country. T h i s contrasts w i t h both the mainstream discourse and the c i t izenship law, where L a t i n Amer i cans , and especial ly Argent ineans, main ta in their pos i t ion as quasi insiders, and i n many cases as returnees. T h i s fits w i t h Joppke ' s (2005) assertion that since 1985 Spa in has y ie lded to the E U e l imina t ing ethnic favour i t i sm i n the immigra t ion l aw, w h i l e main ta in ing it, and even re inforcing it, i n the access to c i t izenship . In the meanwhi le , nationali ty laws have fai led to p rov ide a response to the 124 challenges and demands posed by a growing immigrant population that has made Spain their home - a population that is asked to fulfil citizenship duties, but is deprived from citizenship rights. These two strands of legislation (immigration and citizenship) promote different, even contradictory, representations of the Argentinean immigrant in Spain. In other words, the traditional acceptance of the Argentinean national as a potential Spaniard, maybe a returnee, that is spread through popular discourses and legislated by the nationality laws is gradually being replaced by an vision of Argentineans as \"immigrants\": racialized outsiders from less developed countries who migrate to Spain to compete for local jobs and, by virtue of their difference, bring disorder, crime and trouble with them. Maybe because of the close relationship between the territories, histories, nations, states, and peoples of Argentina and Spain, the transition towards the representation of the Argentinean immigrant as a stranger has emerged as a project burdened by tensions and contradictions. The first set of contradictions emerge from the need to redefine Spain, previously Hispanic, now European. At its root, the conflict is about the need to anchor Spanish identity in relationship to other spaces and places. As the allegiances of the Spanish nation-state evolve - away from the Hispanic Community and towards the E U -we witness history in the making: the past is re-written to conform to present objectives and future expectations that mark the political, economic, and identity parameters on which Spain (the territory, the state, the people) is defined. The need to establish a single source for the rooting of a territorialized national identity (Karmis and MacLure's \"monistic authenticity') continues. The struggle, the negotiation, the conflict, emerges between two ways of defining Spain and Spanish nationhood. On the one hand, one definition - still fresh in the collective memory and in the rather stable citizenship legislation - is articulated around the values of honour, blood, and loyalty that surrounded the discourse of the Hispanic Community. On the other hand, a second, more recent, definition of Spain insists on the relationship between Spain and the EU. In this case, the values that underlie Spanish nationhood are not its past, but its future progress; not honour, but rationality; not blood, but civic principles; not loyalty, but economic, political, and social modernization. 125 These two definit ions o f the Spanish nation-state are perceived, to a great extent, as i r reconci lable . E a c h o f them imposes a different defini t ion o f the territory: in the case o f H i span i c Spa in the extended boundaries o f the country w o u l d inc lude the L a t i n A m e r i c a n former colonies; i n the case o f European Spain, the Schengen space. M o r e important ly, the d rawing o f administrative borders imposes a new def ini t ion o f the l imi t s o f the imagined national communi ty . En t ry into the E U has triggered the e l imina t ion o f pr iv i leges for L a t i n Amer i cans to enter and l ive i n the country, a p r iv i l ege that ratified the preference towards Lat inos and meant that they were not, or not completely , strangers i n Spain . Today , o n l y E U cit izens enjoy such benefit. Y e t the transition towards a Spa in that defines i t se l f around and w i t h i n the European project has neither been easy nor free o f confl ict . The re-defini t ion o f international allegiances and the seal ing o f the borders w i t h L a t i n A m e r i c a n has been a rather fast process that has confused and enraged many L a t i n Amer i cans . G a b r i e l G a r c i a M a r q u e z gave vo ice to such frustration: A C o l o m b i a n novelis t wrote once: \"when I enter Spain I don ' t feel I ' m ar r iv ing , but returning\". (...) T h i s is the feel ing that the Creoles, the indianos, the co lonizer or the co lon ized born i n these [Amer ican] territories share. I f w e dare to c l a i m to that great nation [Spain] that we were taught, reasonably or without reason, as our Mother l and , is because o f the deep conv ic t ion that we have o f be long ing to Spain . (...) E x p l a i n to your European associates that towards us y o u have a duty and a h is tor ica l obl iga t ion that y o u cannot ignore. T h e wheel o f the weal th o f the nations is s imi la r to that o f fortune; it is not wise to close the doors on the nose o f your poor relatives i n days o f opulence. M a y b e one day w e - i n this extremely r i ch territory that y o u as w e l l as we have worked , suffered, and e n j o y e d — w i l l have to open the doors to the sons and daughters o f Spain , l ike has been the case so many other times i n the past. (Garc ia Marquez , 2001). In this letter, ci ted i n many o f m y conversations w i t h both Spaniards and Argent ineans, there is an acute awareness that there is a bond (an \" u m b i l i c a l co rd\" i n G a r c i a M a r q u e z ' s words) that is be ing severed. Argent inean immigrants , however , are not passive recipients o f the categories that the Spanish government and c i t izenry impose on them. O n the contrary, the empi r i ca l evidence that I have col lected for this thesis support the argument that Argent ineans are ve ry active i n elaborating discourses, l obby ing , and part icipat ing i n Spanish pol i t i cs i n order to manipulate and resist their b lending into the general p o o l o f third-country 126 economic immigrants. At the level of the discourse, this resistance means the articulation of claims for belonging that draw from historical duty, ancestry, and unfulfilled political promises. At the level of political action, Argentineans have managed to exert their influence in Spanish politics, for example, by putting together a working group in the Spanish Parliament to elaborate a draft for a new citizenship law that would grant citizen status not only to the children, but also to the grandchildren of Spanish emigrants. Underpinning these discursive and political actions is the feeling that they deserve the treatment that they were promised - they, like Alice, feel they were offered wine that is not on the table. Spain, for its part, seems to be divided as to whether the invitation it once extended to them is still open. Whether the transition towards the assimilation of Argentineans into the non-specific non-European immigrant population will be completed or not remains to be seen. Also uncertain at this point are the results of Argentineans' pressures to modify the citizenship law. In any case, the goal of this thesis has not been to predict the future, but to study the past and the present of Argentinean immigration and access to citizenship in Spain since this country entered the European Union. To some extent, this thesis leaves more questions to explore than answers. Many aspects of the immigration and access to citizenship of Argentines have remained unexplored, either for lack of space, time, or knowledge. The present research highlights, for example, that future research on immigration in Spain would greatly benefit from a deeper understanding of the role of imagination and discourse in the integration of foreigners into the Spanish society. Here, possible questions that we may want to ask refer to who is left outside of the symbolic borders of the imagined Spanish nation, and why. A second aspect that remains largely understudied in Spain is immigrants' agency. As the case of Argentineans shows, immigrants are active political agents that can and do impact the national legislation. Further research on this topic would help overcome the institutional(izing) approach that seems to characterize most of the studies on immigration in Spain, including this thesis, and take a step forward to the recognition of immigrants as significant members of Spanish society. The acceptance of immigrants as fully valid members of Spanish society and the imagining of ways in which they can 127 contribute to it is crucial to the dialogue that, again and again, fails to happen when immigrants in general and Argentines in particular try to function in Spanish society. 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