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Global Health Econ Sustain Latin American Liberal migration policies

of the United States and Canada during much of the second Scholars have discussed two main topics with respect
half of the 19 century. Uruguay’s population grew sevenfold to this pattern. First, it is proposed that immigration from
th
in the second half of the 19 century, and Argentina’s Europe would have been encouraged because of the racism
th
quadrupled, owing in good part to immigration.” (Goebel, of Latin American elites. The arrival of “white” Europeans
2016) European emigrants predominantly chose five Latin would have had a positive impact not only on the economy
American countries as their destination: Argentina (around but also on racial terms — contributing to a perceived
4 million), Brazil (2 million), Cuba (600,000), Uruguay “whitening” of the population. However, due to racism,
(600,000), and Chile (200,000) (Nugent, 1996). After 1939, this positive image was largely directed toward Europeans
refugees from the Spanish Civil War arrived in Mexico, and not toward other ethnic groups. Second, when
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Chile, and the Dominican Republic (Gardiner, 1979). comparing Latin American countries to the USA, scholars
A more recent example is Venezuela, which experienced remarked on a more seamless integration of migrants in
an influx of European immigrants during its first oil boom the former. This integration would be testified not only by
in the 1940s. From the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s, over marriage patterns or data on social mobility but also by the
half a million immigrants arrived in Venezuela from Spain, presence of European immigrants in the political system.
Italy, and Portugal (Van Roy, 1987; Vannini, 1983). Since the time of the independence, leaders were often
immigrants or descendants of immigrants. For instance,
The immigration to these countries was less diverse Bernardo O’Higgins, a founding father of Peru, had Irish
than that of the United States. Italy, Spain, and Portugal and Spanish heritage. Manuel Belgrano, son of an Italian
— representing Catholic Southern Europe — furnished merchant, Domenico Belgrano Peri, from Oneglia in
the largest numbers by a significant margin. While Liguria, was another example. Moving to the 20 century,
th
these migrants suffered exploitation and, in some cases, Brazil saw Juscelino Kubitschek, of Polish heritage, serve
discrimination, particularly with respect to political as president. Argentina’s president, Carlos Menem, had
36
activism, the political discourse done by the ruling class a Syrian family background. Peruvian president Alberto
37
focused on the positive role of migration. This idea was even Fujimori traced his roots to Japanese descent. In the
enshrined in the constitutions of some countries, as seen in present day, Mauricio Macri has Italian heritage, Dilma
the case of Argentina: “The preambles of the Constitutions Rousseff comes from Bulgarian origins, and Jair Bolsonaro
of 1853 and 1994 also extend the rights of liberty, general has both Italian and German ancestry.
welfare, and justice to ‘all men in the world who wish to dwell
on Argentine soil.’ Specific constitutional provisions extend The ethnic bias behind the historically favorable
equal rights to all foreigners.” (Hines, 2010) reception of individuals of European descent in Latin
America is undeniable. Since the era of Spanish and
36 “On a broader scale, the same elites that earlier had Portuguese conquests, a racial class hierarchy has persisted,
advocated European immigration grew skeptical predominantly rooted in varying degrees of European
over its benefits once this immigration was actually ancestry. Descendants of slaves and indigenous people, on
forthcoming in large numbers. Thus, Argentina’s the other hand, have found themselves disproportionately
champion of “civilization” and immigration, the writer- represented in the lower rungs of the economic and social
statesman Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, railed against classes. It is certainly no tour purpose to deny or justify
his country’s “Italianization” by the 1880s (Goebel, this; rather, we just limit ourselves to suggest a possible
2016). Just like in the United States, relative latecomers field of research that would allow a better understanding
perceived to be culturally more different bore the brunt of the “liberal tide.” Contemporary migration policies
of discrimination. Thus, southern Italians, who on are embedded as well in the historical representation of a
average arrived later and settled more often in cities,
felt less welcome than northern Italians, who had come country, which is a result of the type of nation-building.
earlier and headed to the countryside more often. As As Goebel notes, the favorable predisposition toward
early as 1878, the Italian consul in Montevideo claimed many early immigrants from Europe is also linked to the
that “the epithet Neapolitan was a synonym for close connections Latin American elites maintained with
criminal and evildoer in the eyes of police.” “Latin Europe:” “In contrast to common understandings
37 In Argentina, in reaction to the rise of anarchist of nationalism in Europe and the United States today, this
and labor movements in Argentina, in 1902 the nation-building brand of Latin American nationalism was
government enacted Law No. 4144, also known as indeed xenophilic rather than xenophobic. Only after World
the Law of Residency (Ley de Residencia), which
circumscribed immi- gration and discriminated 38 Following the USA Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882,
against the foreign-born based on their political many Latin American states followed suit in the
activities. (p. 480). https://core.ac.uk/download/ hysteria over the “yellow peril” and outlawed Chinese
pdf/73976153.pdf migration.

Volume 1 Issue 1 (2023) 13 https://doi.org/10.36922/ghes.0861