Haitian migration in Santiago, Chile: Expulsions, imaginary and social insertion in a neoliberal nation-state

Abstract

The objective of this article is to characterize and analyze Haitian migration in Chile, in the global context in which it occurs, addressing it from a micro and meso level, understanding from its subjectivities the vulnerable relationships established with the different actors with which they interact in life daily and the role they play in the gradual transformation of social and work spaces. The type of research is qualitative, through the ethnographic method. It is observed that Haitian migration is a challenge for the Chilean State in terms of demand for services and coexistence, located in the field of economic, social, political and cultural rights. Particularly, Haitian migration anthropologically questions the idea of Chilean spatial, temporal and identity boundaries, offering various plans on the possibility of improving their lives and overcoming the barriers they face in a neo-liberal society. It is concluded that Haitians tend to be racialized and excluded, being subalternized, however, to the extent that they manage to work in a stable manner, they are inserted and even generate a willingness to take root considering that the possibility of returning to Haiti is quite uncertain, given the serious political-economic problems from your country of origin.