Les migrations contemporaines en Amérique latine : le cas de l’Argentine

Ce mémoire a pour but de comprendre la façon dont s’articulent les mouvements migratoires et les politiques qui s’y rattachent, d’abord au plan international puis au niveau des migrations régionales vers l’Argentine. Depuis les quarante dernières années, l’Argentine présente des caractéristiques sociales et économiques qui agissent comme facteurs d’attraction pour des milliers d’immigrants latino-américains. Ces flux migratoires appelés limitrophes s’inscrivent dans un système migratoire caractérisé par la constance des mouvements migratoires régionaux. De plus, la nouvelle visibilité accordée aux immigrants limitrophes en Argentine est, par extension, une conséquence de la rigidité qu’ont acquiert les législations migratoires des pays de destinations classiques (Europe occidentale, États-Unis, Canada, Australie, etc.). Ce durcissement des cadres légaux lié aux migrations internationales a en effet déjà fait surgir de nouveaux pays de destination (Espagne, Italie, Grèce notamment), lesquels ont, face aux nouveaux flux migratoires non planifiés, élaboré les lois calquées sur celles des pays de destinations classique. Ces nouveaux pays de destination, qui étaient avant la fin des années 1970 exclusivement expulseurs d’immigrants sont progressivement devenus des pays récepteurs en bonne et due forme. Aujourd’hui, ils ont adopté l’approche restrictive préconisée à l’échelle mondiale, ce qui représente de nouveaux défis en matière de souveraineté et de cohésion sociale pour de nombreux pays dont l’Argentine. Le contexte actuel de mondialisation a engendré une crise migratoire à l’échelle mondiale dans la mesure où, les immigrants voient leurs possibilités de migrer grandement réduites par la recrudescence des politiques migratoires dites restrictives. C’est donc aujourd’hui que les migrations régionales se convertissent en de très intéressants objets d’étude puisqu’elles sont la preuve de la réduction des options de destination pour les potentiels immigrants. C’est pour cette raison que nous avons étudié les flux migratoires limitrophes vers l’Argentine, afin de comprendre les causes qui les motivent et les conséquences qu’ils entraînent au sein de la société argentine contemporaine. Notre étude nous a permis de conclure que d’une part, les migrations régionales vers l’Argentine et les politiques qui s’y rattachent sont intimement liées au contexte économique de la région, et ensuite, que l’adoption de mesures restrictives à l’égard de ces flux était mieux comprise si l’on tenait compte de la vision collective des Argentins en ce qui a trait à la composition ethnique du pays. This dissertation’s objective is to enable a better understanding of the fluxes of migration and relevant policies primarily at an international level and then at a specific regional level, towards Argentina. For the past 40 years, Argentina has possessed social and economic characteristics that have acted as pull factors for thousands of Latino-American immigrants. These migratory fluxes from bordering countries are included in a migratory system defined by constant intraregional migrations. Moreover, the recent increase in visibility of immigrants from bordering countries in Argentina is a direct consequence of the hardening of immigration laws of traditional destination countries such as those of Western Europe, the United States of America, Canada and Australia to name a few. Immigration reform in these countries, specifically the tightening of laws concerning international migration, has consequently created new destination countries for international migrants including Spain, Italy and Greece. In response to these unplanned migrations, many of these countries have passed international migration laws mimicked on those that where passed in traditional destination countries. These new destination countries, who, prior to the 1970s, were exclusively producers of emigrants, have progressively become receiving countries. Today, they have adopted a restrictive approach, representative of a world trend that has created new challenges in sovereignty and social cohesion for numerous countries including, specifically, Argentina. The current and continuing process of globalization has generated a global migratory crisis considering the fact that immigrants’ possibilities of migration are being hugely and progressively limited by a dramatic increase in policies in destination countries limiting or restricting migration. As a result, regional migration fluxes are becoming increasingly interesting objects of study since they are a result and proof of the reduction in possible destinations for potential immigrants. It is for this reason that we have studied the flux of migrants from bordering countries towards Argentina as a means of understanding the causes of these fluxes and there consequences on contemporary Argentinean society. Our research has enabled us to conclude that, first, regional migrations towards Argentina and relevant policies are intrinsically related to the economic situation of the region, and second, Argentina’s adoption of restrictive measures controlling these migrations can be better understood when considering the collective Argentinean mind-set concerning the ethnic composition of the country.

Keyphrases: Argentine, Politiques migratoires, Immigrants limitrophes, Migrations sud-sud, Racisme, Argentine, Discrimination, Immigration, Argentina, Regional migrants, South-South migrations, Migration policies