Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer

Papers

Vol. 14 (2023): January-December, 2023

New Spanish Migrants in Europe’s Capital: Mobility Strategies, Labor Insertion, and Political Participation

DOI
https://doi.org/10.33679/rmi.v1i1.2636
Published
2023-07-15

Abstract

This article provides a critical analysis of the mobility, labor, and political strategies of migration from Spain to Brussels following the 2008 economic crisis, comparing it with past migration flows. The data used in this study is based on fieldwork conducted from 2018 to 2020, which involved qualitative interviews with Spanish migrants. The results allow us to identify two distinct mobility profiles: first, individuals who relocated to Brussels and interrupted their labor trajectories in Spain, and second, those who migrated as part of a transnational professional project. These two profiles exhibit different strategies in terms of mobility, labor insertion, and transnational political participation. Our analysis contributes to the existing literature on new intra-European mobilities from South to North, specifically focusing on the context of Brussels as a global city with dual characteristics, which provides opportunities as well as precarious conditions for these new migrants.

Keywords

  • mobility strategies
  • labor insertion
  • political participation
  • Spain
  • Brussels

How to Cite

Cuberos-Gallardo, F. J., Escrivà, A., & Bermúdez, A. (2023). New Spanish Migrants in Europe’s Capital: Mobility Strategies, Labor Insertion, and Political Participation. Migraciones Internacionales, 14. https://doi.org/10.33679/rmi.v1i1.2636

References

  1. Ambrosini, M. (2016). Refugiados y otros inmigrantes en Italia: ¿Por qué algunos nos aterrorizan y los demás se instalan sin mayores problemas? Migración y Desarrollo, 14(27), 3-18.
  2. Bartolini, L., Gropas, R. y Triandafyllidou, A. (2017). Drivers of highly skilled mobility from southern Europe: Escaping the crisis and emancipating oneself. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43 (4), 652-673. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2016.1249048
  3. Beck, U. (1992). Risk society. Towards a new modernity. Sage.
  4. Bermúdez, A. y Brey, E. (2017). Is Spain becoming a country of emigration again? Data evidence and public responses. En J. M. Lafleur y M. Stanek (Eds.), South-North migration of EU citizens in times of crisis (pp. 83-98). Springer Open.
  5. Bermúdez, A. y Oso, L. (2020). Recent trends in intra-EU mobilities: The articulation between migration, social protection, gender and citizenship systems. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43 (14), 2513-2530. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1770828
  6. Bermúdez, A. y Roca, B. (2021). Nuevas ‘movilidades’ intraeuropeas: decisiones sobre el trabajo, la familia y la política de los españoles ‘transmigrantes’ (Proyecto CSO2017-84618-P). Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades-Gobierno de España.
  7. Bygnes, S. y Erdal, M. B. (2017). Liquid migration, grounded lives: Considerations about future mobility and settlement among Polish and Spanish migrants in Norway. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43 (1), 102-118. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2016.1211004
  8. Castellani, S. (2020). On the fringes of social protection: New Southern European labour migration to Germany. International Migration. https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.12760
  9. Castells, M. (2000). Information technology and global capitalism. En W. Hutton y A. Giddens (Eds.), On the edge. Living in global capitalism (pp. 52-74). Jonathan Cape.
  10. Colectivo Ioé (Pereda, C., Actis, W. y De Prada, M. A.) (23-29 de julio de 2001). Política migratoria española en el marco europeo [Conferencia]. 4º Meeting Internazionale di Loreto “Europa: Dialogo tra le Culture, una Sfida”, Loreto, Italia.
  11. Cortés, A., Moncó Rebollo, B. y Barbosa, F. (2020). Young Spanish au pairs in London: Migration and gender tensions in the context of intra-EU mobilities. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43 (14), 2590-2606. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1774071
  12. Dalla Zuanna, G., Hein, C. y Pastore, F. (2015). The pitfalls of a European migration policy. Migration and political challenges in times of crisis in the EU. Population & Policy Compact: Policy Brief, (9).
  13. DEMO (2013). Migrations et populations: issues de l’immigrationen Belgique. Rapport statistique et démographique 2013. Université Catholique de Louvain. Centre de recherche en démographie et sociétés (DEMO) & Centre pour l’égalité des chances et la lutte contre le racisme.
  14. Díaz Álvarez, J. R. (1989). Presencia y significación del emigrado español en el Reino de Bélgica. Estudios Geográficos, 50 (194), 35-64.
  15. Engbersen, G. (2012). Migration Transitions in an era of Liquid Migration. En M. Okólski (Ed.), European immigrations: trends, structures and policy implications (pp. 91-105). Amsterdam University Press.
  16. Escrivá, A. (2000). The Position and Status of Migrant Women in Spain. En F. Anthias y G. Lazaridis (Eds.), Gender and migration in Southern Europe: Women on the move (pp. 199-225). Berg publishers.
  17. Favell, A. (2008). Eurostars and Eurocities. Free movement and mobility in an integrating Europe. Blackwell.
  18. Fernández Asperilla, A. (2021). Ciclos económicos, emigración y políticas públicas en España. Segle XX: Revista Catalana d’història, (14), 197-217. https://revistes.ub.edu/index.php/segleXX/article/view/38203
  19. Garzón, L. (2010). Las razones de la inmigración latinoamericana en Bruselas: integración de una migración cualificada en una ciudad global. Cahier LABEL (Latino-Américanistes de Belgique) , 72-79.
  20. Godinho, P. (2017). Lo que nos enseñan quienes plantan castaños: experiencias, expectativas y futuros posibles. En T. Vicente, M. Albert, P. Espeso y María J. Pastor (Eds.), Antropologías en transformación: sentidos, compromisos y utopías (pp. 105-134). Institució Alfons el Magnànim.
  21. Gonzalo, A. (1982). La emigración española a Bélgica, a Bruselas y a uno de sus municipios: Saint-Gilles. Geographica, 24, 103-115.
  22. Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) (18 de marzo de 2021). Estadística del Padrón de Españoles Residentes en el Extranjero (PERE) a 1 de enero de 2021. Notas de Prensa. https://www.ine.es/prensa/pere_2021.pdf
  23. Lafleur, J. M. y Mescoli, E. (2018). Creating undocumented EU migrants through welfare: A conceptualization of undeserving and precarious citizenship. Sociology, 52 (3), 480-496. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0038038518764615
  24. Lafleur, J. M. y Stanek, M. (2017). Lessons from the South-North Migration of EU Citizens in Times of Crisis. En J. M.
  25. Lafleur y M. Stanek (Eds.), South-North migration of EU citizens in times of crisis (pp. 215-224). Springer Open.
  26. Lafleur, J. M., Stanek, M. y Veira, A. (2017). South-North labour migration within the crisis-affected European Union: New patterns, new contexts and new challenges. En J. M. Lafleur y M. Stanek (Eds.), South-North migration of EU citizens in times of crisis (pp. 193-214). Springer Open.
  27. Landolt, S. y Thieme, S. (2018). Highly skilled migrants entering the labour market: Experiences and strategies in the contested field of overqualification and skills mismatch. Geoforum, 90, 36-44.
  28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2018.01.009
  29. Lara-Guerrero, L. y Vivas-Romero, M. (2020). Latin American Transnational Political Engagement: Steering Civic
  30. Movements and Cultural Repertoires from the Global City of Brussels. En O. C. Norocel, A. Hellström y M. B. Jørgensen (Eds.), Nostalgia and hope: intersections between politics of culture, welfare, and migration (pp. 203-217). Springer Open. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-41694-2_13
  31. López Sala, A. (2005). Inmigrantes y Estados: la respuesta política ante la cuestión migratoria. Anthropos.
  32. Martín, E. y Roca, B. (2017). Spanish migrations to Europe: from the fordist model to the flexible economy. Journal of Mediterranean Studies, 26 (2), 189-207.
  33. Marx, P. y Nguyen, C. (2016). Are the unemployed less politically involved? A comparative study of political internal efficacy. European Sociological Review, 32 (5), 634-648. https://doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcw020
  34. McIlwaine, C. (2020). Feminized precarity among onward migrants in Europe: reflections from Latin Americans in London. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43 (14), 2607-2625. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1738518
  35. Myria-Centre Fédéral Migration. (2020). La migration en chifres et en droits. Les cahiers du rapport annuel. Population et mouvements. Myria-Centre Fédéral Migration.
  36. Montes, S. (2017). La nueva emigración española en Bruselas. Fundación 1 de Mayo: Colección Estudios, (102), 1-54. https://1mayo.ccoo.es/788ef80d6c9195c1aaa04b3792f1dda1000001.pdf
  37. Oso, L. (2020). Crossed mobilities: The ‘recent wave’ of Spanish migration to France after the economic crisis. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 43 (14), 2572-2589. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1738520
  38. Pérez Caramés, A., Ortega-Rivera, E., López de Lera, D. y Domínguez-Mujica, J. (2018). La emigración española en tiempos de crisis (2008-2017): análisis comparado de los flujos a América Latina y Europa. Notas de Población, (107), 11-40.
  39. Rea, A. (2013). Immigration and diversity. En E. Corijn & J. Van de Ven (Eds.), The Brussels reader. A small world city to become the capital of Europe (pp. 244-266). VUBPress.
  40. Recchi, E. (2015). Mobile Europe. The theory and practice of free movement in the EU. Springer.
  41. Rodríguez Barrio, I. (2006). La inmigración española en el sector carbonífero belga. Migraciones y Exilios, 7, 99-114.
  42. Rodríguez Puertas, R. (2021). Nostálgicos, conversos y cosmopolitas. Perfiles de la nueva emigración española. Universidad de Almería.
  43. Rubio, C., CluaiFainé, M. y Feixa Pàmpols, C. (2019). Youth and social movements on the move: Political engagement among young Spanish migrants in London. Journal of Youth Studies, 22 (2), 223-239. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2018.1495834
  44. Ruiz Morales, F. C. (2018). Emigrantes españoles y asociacionismo flamenco: estudio de tres casos en Bélgica. Migraciones Internacionales, 9 (4), 71-98. https://doi.org/10.17428/rmi.v9i35.909
  45. Sánchez Alonso, B. (2015). Los mitos de la emigración española. CEU Ediciones.
  46. Sassen, S. (2007). The global city. En D. Nugent y J. Vincent (Eds.), A companion to the anthropology of politics (pp. 168-178). Blackwell Publishing.
  47. Schryro, K. (2020). La crisis como factor desencadenante para la formación de nuevos colectivos transnacionales digitales. Análisis de iniciativas de migrantes españoles en redes sociales a través del estudio del movimiento “Marea Granate”. Estudios Culturales Hispánicos, (1), 137-173. https://doi.org/10.5283/ech.21
  48. Vause, S. (2020). 1997-2017: An assessment of two decades of immigration in Belgium. Revue Quetelet Journal, 8(2), 61-99. https://doi.org/10.14428/rqj2020.08.02.02
  49. Vilar Ramírez, J. B. (2000). Las emigraciones españolas a Europa en el siglo XX: algunas cuestiones a debatir. Migraciones y Exilios: Cuadernos de la Asociación para el estudio de los exilios y migraciones ibéricos contemporáneos, (1), 131-159.