A socio-political view of international migration from Latin America and the Caribbean: the case of Europe

In this paper, reference will be made to all Latin American and Caribbean inflows to Europe and its social and political impacts, but attention will be mainly driven to migration into Southern Europe, particularly Spain, Portugal and Italy. Topics to be explored include the factors, economic and other, explaining recent immigration; the economic incorporation of immigrants; the social framework of flows, including reactions from local populations to immigrants; and the tentative and multiple policy responses to immigration, focussing when possible on the Latin American and Caribbean inflow. The fragile balance between a demographic and an economic need for immigration, and a social and political mostly defensive reaction, will be highlighted, as well as some probable trends in the field.