A red-hot border, a national-populist movement that makes migration its Trojan horse, a deeply misinformed public debate, and a defensive left-wing government that justifies its existence by being others.
With this description we could talk almost everywhere today. But the country I am referring to is Chile, the “Germany of Latin America” transformed into chaos, lies and confrontation. Last May I had the opportunity to make an extremely vivid and intense visit to this wonderful country, which is the origin of my emotional and political formation. In it I was able to prove that Chile is in a place that other nations have already traversed. That your company is facing a dilemma that, unfortunately, in Spain we are solving in the worst possible way. And I wish I could tell them not to make the same mistakes.
The situation there seems almost manual:
Far-right José Antonio Kast’s Republican Party and its media ecosystem have managed to establish a story in which immigration is directly related to popular insecurity (real and perceived) and institutions’ difficulties in responding appropriately and in an orderly manner and way. The problem of insecurity is very complex and poses a real problem for all social classes, but the investigations of the media and independent research centers deny the biggest thing: firstly, the crime rate among foreigners (mainly Venezuelans, but also Haitians and Peruvians). , Bolivians and others) is below average. Second, in crimes where the presence of foreigners is predominant, such as human trafficking, immigrants are also the main victims. Third, the multinational nature of organized crime gangs such as drug trafficking is far removed from the flows of workers and refugees that the country is receiving and the challenges they pose.
The far-right party José Antonio Kast and its media ecosystem have managed to establish a story in which immigration is directly linked to the (real and perceived) insecurity of the population
Migrations are an effective means of positioning oneself in the public debate, but the goals of the national populists go much further. After the failed first attempt to reform the constitution inherited from Pinochet and the dissolution of the first Constituent Assembly, the Republican Party won an absolute majority in the second. After the reformist illusion of a few years ago, there is still a serious risk of stagnation and even regression in a country shaped by the neoliberal and hyperconservative principles of dictatorship.
Gabriel Boric’s progressive government suffers from the same crippling confusion on this issue as its counterparts in other countries, such as Spain. Not only has the left displayed a worrying inability to extricate itself from the anti-immigrant web of misinformation, but it has also responded to the thugs by showing that they, too, are capable of the heavy hand. The shameful diplomatic assault staged a few weeks ago by Chile and Peru at the expense of 300 people in a critical humanitarian situation should set off alarm bells. The resulting militarization of the border is a dangerous migration management model that is rarely reversed. We know that here too.
The consequences of this process are not only ethical and not limited to the short term. Like much of the Latin American region, Chile is transitioning from being a sender to a net recipient of migrants. The country’s changing demographics indicate that the country’s economy will require an increasing number of foreign workers across the entire skill spectrum in the coming years. As the World Bank’s latest World Development Report shows, most middle- and upper-middle-income countries are undergoing demographic change that can be attributed to declining birth rates and increasing average life expectancy. Chile is no exception to this process, which will force a race for talent and labor incompatible with the Republican Party’s isolationist theses.
The Chilean left has not only displayed a troubling inability to extricate itself from the anti-immigrant web of misinformation, but has also hit back at the thugs, proving that it, too, is capable of the heavy hand.
The good news for Chile is that they still have time to hit the brakes and change course. Something of a new story, not reactive but substitute, we could see in Boric after the South America summit in Brazil at the end of May. Honest statements based on economic facts and legal obligations and values. But it’s about going further and having an alternative discourse to the one that’s spreading around the world like an oil slick. It is not a chimera: with the Quito process, 13 countries in the region, including Chile, have sought to coordinate the reception of six million Venezuelans, share information and establish common criteria for managing migration. It wasn’t perfect, but compared to how the EU or the US manages their own migration challenges, the Latin American response could find a place in political museums.
The Chilean migration debate and its impact on other areas are also a European problem. Precisely because the danger of national populism is multipolar, we must also react to it. Just as Abascal, Orbán, Trump or Kast share resources, experiences and strategies, the global movement for a fairer and smarter model of human mobility must join forces. Let’s support Chile with narrative resources, political power and innovative alliances. Let us learn from your experiences – what a wonderful museum of remembrance! – let us protect your sophisticated public debate and be inspired by your society’s longing for change. The broad front that we are aiming for in this case is non-partisan and certainly not left-leaning. But it is deeply political: the mobilization of those who believe that where you are born cannot decide your rights to life.
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