The Social Inclusion of Migrants Between Policy and Practice: Lessons from Uruguay

Abstract

Extant research on international migration in English overwhelmingly focuses on migration to and in Europe and North America. Yet major migration movements occur outside of these regions. This mismatch leads to a neglect of the multi-faceted migration dynamics beyond the global North. Uruguay is a case in point for two reasons. First, the country has become both a significant destination for inter-regional movements and a crucial albeit unexpected stop along an extended international route. Second, both the country's migration policies and research agenda have promptly responded to the surge in migration by examining recent migrants’ quality of life and issues of social inclusion. In this country report, we use the hitherto understudied case of Uruguay as an illustrative example to showcase potential policy and scholarship lessons for international migration. We argue that Uruguay constitutes an important case for future migration scholarship and policy outlook, because it enhances our understanding of how host countries can promote migrants’ social inclusion and well-being, even in the face of significant structural inequalities affecting both native and migrant populations. Hence, Uruguay's experiences against the backdrop of recent migration in-flows have implications for migration scholarship and policy in regional (Latin America and Caribbean) and global contexts.

Keywords

Uruguay social inclusion south-south migration

Introduction

Migration is a global phenomenon with increasing topicality for all regions. Yet a mismatch exists between the current state of international migration and the current state of dominant English-language scholarship on the topic. While the former manifests that the majority of migratory movements occur within and across Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), as well as Africa (McAuliffe and Triandafyllidou 2021), the latter has a propensity to focus overwhelmingly on migration trajectories from the afore-mentioned regions to Europe and North America (Fiddian-Qasmiyeh 2020; Chung 2022). This mismatch does not contribute to the maturing of migration studies as a research field, nor does it offer enough knowledge for societies to understand and govern migration-related issues and challenges. Notably, many countries in the so-called global South are no longer merely sending countries or places of short transit, but also destinations in and of themselves. We posit that it would benefit both the scholarly endeavour and policymaking if the current state of migration research could focus more on such transformations in migration dynamics on a global scale.

In this country report, we examine Uruguay as an illustrative example to highlight the country's diverse migration landscape, responsive policies, progressive approach to migrant inclusion in the country's social and political life, dynamic empirical research scene, as well as challenges ahead. The article proceeds as follows. In section 2, we provide a concise overview of the current migration landscape in Uruguay, focusing on the country's recent transformations with regard to the intensity of movements and the demographic profile of migrants. We then show the discrepancy between migration trends in Uruguay and how international migration scholarship has (not) addressed them in section 3. Next, we present major contemporary research and their foci by Uruguayan scholars, whose findings and implications have hitherto been overlooked internationally due partly to language (primarily published in Spanish). We discuss current and emerging research agendas and methodologies in studying migration in Uruguay in section 4. Finally, in conclusion, we highlight how a close examination of migration in Uruguay, and its best practices and missteps, can push the current boundaries of international migration research.

Uruguay as a Multi-Faceted Destination

In recent years, the inter-regional growth of migration flows in Latin America has intensified (Prieto Rosas and Bengochea Soria 2022). Like many countries in the region, Uruguay is part of this transformation, as manifested by the increase of migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, and other non-neighbouring countries (Prieto Rosas and Bengochea Soria 2022). Such a notable increase in regional migrants coming from non-bordering countries has been documented with data from the National Household Survey and administrative records from the National Migration Bureau (MIDES 2017; Prieto Rosas, Robaina, and Koolhaas 2016). As a result, today's Uruguay (as well as other countries in the region) is both a final destination and a crucial stop along some of the most dynamic migration corridors in the region (Álvarez Velasco 2022). This is illustrated by the presence of Venezuelan migrants who may come from Peru or Ecuador after having sojourned there, as well as migrants from Cuba, who, after a period of residence in Uruguay, may continue towards Mexico and the United States.

The aforementioned transformations have occurred concomitantly with migration policy changes in Uruguay, namely the implementation of progressive new migration and refugee legal frameworks (Law 18,250/2008 and Law 18,076/2006), and the MERCOSUR Residency Agreement (Law 19,254/2014). In particular, Uruguay's 2008 Migration Law recognises migration as an inalienable right and explicitly grants equality regardless of national origin or documentary migration status. This normative framework not only emphasises migrants’ access to social and economic rights, but also aims to promote their social inclusion in mainstream society. Seen in this light, Uruguay's policy response to changing migration (including refugee) dynamics and in-flow in the country contrasts with how major host countries in North America and Europe have dealt with similar issues in the past decades: viz. amending laws to render it harder for asylum seekers, refusing entry to migrants, and/or push backs at the border (Gibney 2004; Tazzioli 2019). Against this backdrop, it benefits migration scholarship and governance, especially in terms of migrants’ social inclusion and well-being promotion, if more attention and in-depth studies could examine the success and missteps of Uruguay's policy response and recent developments.

The State of Uruguayan Migration Research

Existing Body of Research

As it stands, the state of scholarship on international migration in Uruguay is predominantly in Spanish. We reviewed nearly 300 publications on migration and Uruguay from 1950 to 2022. Most of these Spanish language publications (and many in English) were produced from a historical perspective based on past European immigration, even during periods when Uruguay experienced significant emigration flows (Figure 1). Aguiar (1982) attributed such topical overrepresentation to efforts of national identity-building based on the pillars of stability and (historical) European immigration.

Figure 1.

Number of publications by topic and net migration rate. Uruguay, 1950–2022. Source: Net migration estimates from United Nations (2019) and number of publications estimated by authors. Note: The review of academic bibliography on the migration phenomenon in Uruguay was carried out using search engines such as Google Scholar, CrossRef and the local repository of the University of the Republic's Libraries (Biur) using four sets of keywords: emigration and Uruguay, immigration and Uruguay, return and Uruguay, and migration and Uruguay. We restrict the search to articles published between 1950 and 2022. The search results include publications in Spanish, English, Italian, Portuguese and French.

In part due to the language of most publications, the country also has low visibility on major international migration scholarship platforms, which are mainly in English. This is no surprise when less than 20 out of almost 300 publications reviewed for this paper in the last 70 years on Uruguay were in English.¹ Moreover, the majority of recent scholarship, even in English, reflects neither the recent migration trends to the country (see section 2) nor how Uruguay's migration policy and research sought to respond to this. This is where contemporary Uruguayan research comes in, especially when most of what has been done in the country remains unknown to the broader international community of migration scholars in Europe and North America, who usually rely on and contribute to English-language scholarship.

Current Research Endeavours by Uruguayan Scholars

Current migration research in Uruguay is characterised by a responsiveness to recent migration trends, clearly contrasting with older scholarship's neglect of major dynamics “on the ground” in the 1970s to the early 2000s (see section above). Contemporary Uruguayan migration scholarship can be broadly classified into two major research strands. Given that Uruguay has only recently experienced a shift towards a key destination and essential transit stop for inter-regional migrants, one strand of scholarship lies in documenting the demographic profiles of recent migrants. The findings of studies revealed an essential heterogeneity in the origins of recent international arrivals, with four countries dominating newest arrivals in the past decade: the Dominican Republic, Peru (especially in the early 2010s), Cuba, and Venezuela (especially since 2015) (Prieto Rosas et al. 2022). There is also a stark gender dimension among Peruvian and Dominican migrant communities whose members are predominantly women. In addition, transnational networks (mainly sustained by family ties and reunification) are often present in these two communities and among the male-dominant Cuban communities (Fernández Soto et al. 2020; Uriarte Bálsamo and Urruzola Astiazarán 2018). Skilled migration, conversely, characterises the Venezuelan and Cuban communities (Prieto Rosas et al. 2022).

Another strand of current research has sought to examine the effects of Uruguay's migration and inclusion policies on recent migrant communities by analysing how such policies have fared. On the one hand, recent studies have found that these policies had a generally positive impact on migrants’ access to health and education. Results highlighted that schools, in general, have been very receptive to accepting migrant students, resulting in migrant children having significant access to all levels of education: from early childhood (from the age of three), to primary and secondary education, with very low levels of grade repetition (Anfitti and Montiel 2021; Prieto Rosas and Montiel 2020; Rivero, Incerti, and Márquez Scotti 2019; Uriarte Bálsamo 2021). Access to the healthcare system is also high among migrants, but there are differences by origin and for children under 18 years old (Bonapelch and Reolón 2021; Prieto Rosas and Montiel 2020). These may be explained by a lack of knowledge about the functioning of the healthcare system among recent arrivals.

On the other hand, research has highlighted issues faced by migrant communities, notably in their access to the labour market and housing, despite favourable policy frameworks . Significant challenges faced by migrants include being over-qualified for the jobs offered to them (Méndez 2018) and a wage gap to the disadvantage of recent migrants, especially those belonging to ethnic minorities or those working in low-productivity sectors (Márquez Scotti, Prieto Rosas, and Escoto Castillo 2020). In addition, discriminatory practices also manifested in unequal treatment once hired, partly due to employers exploiting migrants’ desperate need to enter the labour market and their lack of information to navigate in a new employment system (Márquez Scotti et al. 2020). Moreover, challenges are also present in migrants’ access to adequate housing, with problems of residential segregation and the proliferation of precarious solutions strongly affecting migrant populations in Montevideo (Fossatti and Uriarte 2018; Boggio, Funcasta and Olhaberry 2019; Bengochea and Madeiro 2020; Bengochea, Prieto Rosas, and Montiel 2022).

Current Research Orientation and Emerging Agenda in Uruguay

Contemporary Uruguayan migration research orientation has remained responsive to changes in the country's migration dynamics. This is supplemented with a reliance on demographic survey instruments and qualitative ethnographic fieldwork conducted by researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. The type and speed of survey instruments have generally kept up with actual migration developments. For instance, four thematised surveys have been implemented in the last five years. These surveys have sorted out the limitations inherent to the study of migrant and refugee populations, which include the lack of a sampling frame, distrust, and accessibility issues often associated with the documentary and socioeconomic vulnerability of hard-to-reach populations. In 2018, the Ethnosurvey on Recent Immigration² (ERI) was conducted, applying Respondent Driven Sampling to target people born in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Venezuela residing in Montevideo. Complete migration, family, and labour trajectories were collected through the application of a retrospective questionnaire in what was the first adaptation of the Latin American Migration Project to a destination. Crucially, this served as the basis for replication for further studies based in other Latin American cities.³ Also, ERI's participants from Venezuela surveyed in 2018 were revisited in 2021 to follow up on their labour, housing, and family trajectories, in addition to understanding how/if the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in additional challenges for these communities. Moreover, in 2020 and 2022, other surveys using Facebook to reach out to migrant and refugee populations were conducted to deepen the understanding of the COVID-19 impacts on migrants’ lives. As a result of such efforts, there is a comprehensive state of the art in Uruguayan scholarship regarding monitoring the (changing) living conditions of migrant populations in Uruguay, especially in post-pandemic times. However, beyond the state of monitoring migrants’ living conditions, crucial questions on how and why migrant communities experience social exclusion/inclusion still need to be addressed.

Against this backdrop, major emerging agendas focus on the inclusion and participation of migrants in the country's social life. This should be examined against Uruguay's progressive policies, whose spirit shows a humanist vocation, and how/if they continue to stand the test of time with the rotation of parties or political-ideological orientations. In concrete terms, future research will examine how subsequent policies address the gap between progressive provisions in the 2008 Migration Law and migrants’ actual accessibility to such rights. Also, in the broader context of regional integration/freedom of movement, further research can examine whether the differences introduced by the MERCOSUR Residency Agreement affect the speed and nature of social inclusion among migrant populations in Uruguay depending on whether they hail from the MERCOSUR region or beyond. Moreover, on the micro-level, it could be asked how individual sociodemographic characteristics, settlement duration, and contextual factors related to the destination might shape the social inclusion process in these populations. Regardless of perspectives, a critical overarching orientation in future agendas should be the exploration of lessons that can be learned from the experience and implementation of Uruguayan migration governance and implications for destinations with similar dynamics in the LAC region and beyond.

Conclusion

The Uruguayan case study is highly relevant to host country contexts particularly in the LAC region and the global South. In these contexts, Uruguay can be seen as an exception. Like many others in the region, Uruguay has a progressive migration and refugee law, but it is regularly praised as one of the few (with Brazil) to implement it in relatively stable and consistent ways, even in the advent of the Venezuelan migration crisis or COVID-19 pandemic (Gandini, Prieto Rosas, and Lozano-Ascensio 2019; Vera Espinoza et al. 2021). This constitutes a major case study of how destinations in the global South can devise and implement sustainable migration policies. Hence, this Country Report concludes that a closer examination of migration destination contexts beyond the global North, through the example of Uruguay, can push current boundaries of international migration research.

As we showed, Uruguay's inclusive approach lies in the progressive 2008 Migration Law and a relatively stable and systematic implementation of it. This starkly contrasts with other LAC countries with progressive migration legislations but have been experiencing a backlash in their implementation (e.g., Argentina from 2015–2019 or Ecuador since 2019). To be sure, this does not mean that there are no inconsistencies. In effect, the current state of migration research in Uruguay underscored some mismatches between policy and implementation and between the state of regularisation and migrants’ social inclusion (Prieto Rosas et al. 2022). A critical lesson for international migration research is that, achieving a high proportion of regular status for most migrants does not in itself suffice to ensure migrants’ subsequent full-scale inclusion in the mainstream society. Against this backdrop, the Uruguayan case contributes to international migration scholarship by inviting us to reflect on migrants’ social inclusion and welfare in a context characterised by a rights-oriented legal migration framework on the one hand, and a destination context marked by existing high levels of social inequality on the other hand. For such country contexts, finding the right balance to reconcile these challenges would be crucial to consistently implementing any progressive policy frameworks to promote migrants’ social inclusion and well-being.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Aeneas Zi Wang

Julieta Bengochea Soria

Notes

References

Aguiar

1982. Uruguay: país de emigración. Montevideo: Banda Oriental.

Álvarez Velasco

2022. “Between Hostility and Solidarity: The Production of the Andean Region–Southern Cone Transit Migratory Corridor.” In Migration in South America, edited by Herrera

Gomez

, 51–75. Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Anfitti

Montiel

. 2021. Trayectorias educativas y acceso a la educación de niños, niñas y adolescentes migrantes en Montevideo. Montevideo: UNICEF Uruguay, Programa de Población (Universidad de la República), and Observatorio de Movilidad, Infancia y Familia en Uruguay. Available at: https://omif.cienciassociales.edu.uy/reportes-tematicos-enir/ (Accessed: 2 June 2023).

Boggio

Funcasta

Olhaberry

. 2019. “Montevideo. Entrando a la ciudad con paso de inmigrante.” In Habitar Montevideo: 21 miradas sobre la ciudad, edited by Aguiar

Borras

Cruz

Gabard

Sanchez

, 481–501. Montevideo: IM, FBS, FCS UdelaR.

Bengochea

Madeiro

. 2020. Acceso a la vivienda adecuada de las personas migrantes en la ciudad de Montevideo [Access to adequate housing for migrants in the city of Montevideo] . UNICEF Uruguay, Programa de Población (Universidad de la República), and Observatorio de Movilidad, Infancia y Familia en Uruguay. Available at: www.omif.cienciassociales.edu.uy (Accessed: 20 May 2023).

Bonapelch

Reolón

. 2021. La salud de las personas migrantes en Montevideo. Montevideo: UNICEF Uruguay, Programa de Población (Universidad de la República), and Observatorio de Movilidad, Infancia y Familia en Uruguay. Available at: www.omif.cienciassociales.edu.uy (Accessed: 2 June 2023).

Chung

E. A.

2022. “The Developmental Migration State in East Asia.” In Understanding Global Migration, edited by Hollifield

J. F.

Foley

, 127–51. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

Fernández Soto

Grande

Bengochea

Márquez Scotti

. 2020. Dinámicas familiares de las personas migrantes en la ciudad de Montevideo [Family dynamics of migrants in the city of Montevideo]. UNICEF Uruguay, Programa de Población (Universidad de la República), and Observatorio de Movilidad, Infancia y Familia en Uruguay. Available at: www.omif.cienciassociales.edu.uy (Accessed: 25 May 2023).

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh

2020. “Introduction: Recentering the South in Studies of Migration.” Migration and Society 3 (1): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3167/arms.2020.030102.

10.

Fossatti

Uriarte

. 2018. “Viviendo sin derecho. Migraciones latinoamericanas y acceso a la vivienda en Montevideo.” La Rivada. Investigaciones en Ciencias Sociales 6 (11): 42–60.

11.

Gandini

Prieto Rosas

Lozano-Ascencio

. (2019) “El éxodo venezolano: migración en contextos de crisis y respuestas de los países latinoamericanos [The Venezuelan exodus: Migration in crisis contexts and responses from Latin American countries],” In Crisis y migración de población venezolana. Entre la desprotección y la seguridad jurídica en Latinoamérica [Crisis and migration of the Venezuelan population: Between the lack of protection and legal certainty in Latin America], edited by Gandini

Lozano-Ascencio

Prieto Rosas

, 9–31. Ciudad de México: UNAM.

12.

Gibney

2004. The Ethics and Politics of Asylum. Liberal Democracy and the Response to Refugees. New York: Cambridge University Press.

13.

IADB. 2019. Panorama of Aging and Long-Term Care: Uruguay. IADB. Available at: https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Panorama_of_Aging_and_Long-term_Care_Summary_Uruguay.pdf (Accessed: 2 June 2023).

14.

LAMP

2022. LAMP Project. Available at: https://lamp-opr.colmex.mx/ (Accessed: 2 June 2023).

15.

Márquez Scotti

Escoto Castillo

Espíndola Ferrer

Prieto Rosas

. 2020. Inmigración y desigualdad en el mercado de trabajo uruguayo. Resultados y recomendaciones de políticas [Immigration and inequality in the Uruguayan labour market: Findings and policy recommendations]. UNICEF Uruguay, Programa de Población (Universidad de la República), and Observatorio de Movilidad, Infancia y Familia en Uruguay. Available at: https://omif.cienciassociales.edu.uy/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Policy-Brief-Inmigración-y-desigualdad-en-el-mercado-de-trabajo-uruguayo-2020-1.pdf (Accessed: 20 May 2023).

16.

Márquez Scotti

Prieto Rosas

Escoto Castillo

. 2020. “Segmentación en el ingreso por trabajo según condición migratoria, género y ascendencia étnico-racial en Uruguay.” [Segmentation of labour income by migration status, gender and ethno-racial descent in Uruguay]. Migraciones (49): 85–118.

17.

McAuliffe

Triandafyllidou

. 2021. World Migration Report 2022. Geneva: International Organization for Migration.

18.

Méndez

2018. Sobre-calificación de los inmigrantes y personalización en el salario. Evidencia para Uruguay. DT 16-18. Montevideo: UNICEF Uruguay, Programa de Población (Universidad de la República), and Observatorio de Movilidad, Infancia y Familia en Uruguay. Available at: http://www.iecon.ccee.edu.uy/dt-16-18-sobre-calificacion-de-los-inmigrantes-y-penalizacion-en-el-salario-evidencia-para-uruguay/publicacion/645/es/ (Accessed: 2 June 2019).

19.

MIDES. 2017. Caracterización de las nuevas corrientes migratorias en Uruguay Nuevos orígenes latinoamericanos : estudio de caso de las personas peruanas y dominicanas. Informe final. Montevideo: Ministerio de Desarrollo Social (MIDES).

20.

Prieto Rosas

Montiel

. 2020. Inclusión social de niños, niñas y adolescentes vinculados a la inmigración [Social inclusion of children and adolescents with migration backgrounds] . UNICEF Uruguay, Programa de Población (Universidad de la República), and Observatorio de Movilidad, Infancia y Familia en Uruguay. Available at: https://omif.cienciassociales.edu.uy/wpcontent/uploads/2020/11/Inclusion-Social-inmigracion-Uruguay_web.pdf (Accessed: 20 May 2023).

21.

Prieto Rosas

Bengochea Soria

. 2022. “International Migration in South America.” In The Routledge History of Modern Latin American Migration, edited by en Feldmann

A.E.

Bada

Durand

Schütze

, 62–77. New York: Routledge.

22.

Gandini

Prieto Rosas

Lozano-Ascencio

Prieto Rosas

, 9–31. Ciudad de México: UNAM.

23.

Prieto Rosas

Montiel

Bengochea

Dutra

, D. 2022. “Inclusión social durante la pandemia por COVID-19 en Uruguay. Límites y buenas prácticas en la implementación de una política migratoria y de refugio con enfoque de derechos [Social inclusion during the Covid-19 pandemic in Uruguay: Limits and good practices in the implementation of a rights-based migration and refugee policy],” In Movilidades y covid-19 en América Latina: inclusiones y exclusiones en tiempos de “crisis” [Mobilities and Covid-19 in Latin America: inclusions and exclusions in times of “crisis”], edited by Zapata

G. P.

Vera Espinoza

Gandini

, 37–58. Ciudad de Mexico: UNAM.

24.

Prieto Rosas

Bengochea

Fernández Soto

Márquez Scotti

Montiel

. 2022. “Informe de resultados de la Etnoencuesta de Inmigración Reciente en Montevideo (ENIR 1, 2018) [Report on the results of the Ethno-Survey on Recent Immigration in Montevideo]. Montevideo: Udelar. FCS-UM. Documento de Trabajo/ FCS-PP, 07.

25.

Prieto Rosas

Robaina

Koolhaas

. 2016. “Access and quality of employment of recent immigration in Uruguay.” REMHU: Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana 24 (48): 121–144.

26.

Rivero

Incerti

Márquez Scotti

. 2019. “El reciente proceso migratorio en Uruguay algunos desafíos para las alternativas educativas y de cuidado [The recent migration process in Uruguay: Some challenges for education and care alternatives],” Fronteras 12: 100–114.

27.

Tazzioli

2019. “Governing Migrant Mobility Through Mobility: Containment and Dispersal at the Internal Frontiers of Europe.” Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space 38 (1): 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1177/2399654419839065.

28.

Uriarte Bálsamo

2021. “Back and Forth: An Analysis of the Processes of Transnationalization of Women’s Work and the Internationalization of Early Childhood Policies in Uruguay.” In South American Childhoods: Neoliberalisation and Children's Rights Since the 1990s, edited by Vergara del Solar

Llobet

Nascimento

M. L.

, 251–73. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan.

29.

Uriarte Bálsamo

Urruzola Astiazarán

. 2018. “Las mujeres, los niños y las niñas también migran. Corrientes migratorias latinoamericanas en Uruguay desde una perspectiva de género.” Encuentros Latinoamericanos 2 (2): 23–48.