| Title |
International
Migrations
in Latin America and the Caribbean
Edition Nš 65
May-August 2002 |
| Author: |
Permanent Secretariat of SELA |
|
Index |
MIGRATION, INTEGRATION
AND DEVELOPMENT
Fidel Jaramillo
Vice-President for Strategy and Development, Andean Development Corporation
(CAF).
In recent decades, worldwide migration has increased considerably in spite of the fact
that a growing number of barriers have been erected to control de mobility of people
across boundaries. In 1990 it was estimated that 120 million people lived outside their
country of origin. By the year 2000 that number had reached 150 million. Migrations have
increased also in Latin America. It is estimated that the number of migrants within the
region and to the United States has increased from 1.5 million in 1960 (0.7% of the
region's total population) to 11 million in 1990 (2.5% of the region's total population).
This means that migration has increased almost tenfold.
Graph 1
Migration within the Region and to the USA
Even though Latin Americans now migrate to different regions of the world, the USA
continues to be the destination of choice. According to that country's census for the year
2000, approximately 14.47 million people living in the USA were born in Latin American or
Caribbean countries. This represents approximately 50% of the total number of foreign-born
US residents. Most of them reside in that country's western and southern regions.
Recent estimates by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) indicate that in
1996 approximately 5 million undocumented migrants resided in the USA and that their
numbers grew by 275,000 each year. This means that the approximately 6.5 million
undocumented migrants living in the USA represent 2.5% of the total North American
population. Most illegal migrants to the USA (54% of the total) are from Mexico, however
another 14.5% are from five other Central American countries (El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua). Thus, Latin America is a major source of
undocumented migrants. Another well-defined characteristic of Latin American migration to
the USA is its geographical concentration. Approximately 54% of all Latin American
migrants settle in California and Texas.
Graph 2
Undocumented Latin American Population in the USA
Recent, though limited, data indicate that in the year 2000 a little over 2 million Latin
American and Caribbean migrants resided in Europe and other countries, mostly the United
Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and Canada. Outside Europe, the highest concentration of migrants
from the region is in Japan. According to Japan's Ministry of Justice, in the year 2000
80% of all Latin American residents were from Brazil and 14% from Peru. A large number of
these are descendants of Japanese migrants who settled in Peru and Brazil at the beginning
of the XX century. Canada, Israel and Australia are other major destinations for Latin
American migrants.
Throughout generations, the remittances sent by international migrants have represented an
important source of economic support for their families. They imply a significant flow of
foreign currencies that has profound consumer and investment repercussions in the
receiving countries. According to the Multilateral Investment Fund and the IDB every year
remittances in Latin America reach a total of US$ 25,000 million and it is estimated that
at current growth rates, the total accumulated value for the 2001-2010 decade could reach
US$ 300,000 million.
In this regard, the recent experience of some countries is particularly relevant. For
example, in Mexico in 1990 remittances represented 160% of revenues from agricultural
exports and approximately 70% of revenues from oil exports. In Brazil, in the year 2001
remittances equaled revenues from coffee exports. That same year, remittances represented
10% of the GDP of El Salvador, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador and 2 to 6 times the
total value of foreign direct investment (FDI).
Today it is acknowledged that inequalities in the level of development and job
opportunities between countries and regions are a fundamental cause of international
migration and that until such inequalities are corrected or lessened migration flows will
continue.
Graph 3
Remittances Flows to Latin America, in Perspective: Select Countries
(% of Gross Domestic Product)
The experts who analyze the relationship between integration-migration-development
coincide that it is the result of the "migration curve". They stress that
migrations occur especially in integration processes between two or more countries or
regions with different development levels that have pre-existing migration relations.
According to this view, the disruptive effects of the initial stages of development are
reflected in a tendency to migrate towards developed countries or regions. As integration
efforts in the areas of communications, transportation, trade and investment lead to more
and better paid jobs, the tendency to migrate decreases in the medium and long term.
Presumably, this process will allow the insertion of developing countries into the
international economy, raising not only their competitiveness levels but also their
peoples' standards of living.
Currently, Latin America's integration efforts unfold at two levels: the hemispheric
level, through the FTAA negotiations, and the regional level, through negotiations within
sub-regional blocs such as MERCOSUR, the Andean Community, the Central American Common
Market (MCCA) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Graph 4
Migration-related effects of Development: The Migration Hump
However, as the "migration curve" effect indicates, the success of such
integration efforts depends on a variety of factors. Foremost among them is the commitment
to integrate and cooperate at the regional level. Second, the appropriate identification
of the regional, cultural and social particularities of migration and its relation to
development. Third, the development of adequate migration policies and other legal
agreements aimed at promoting greater mobility across borders and legal insertion in the
receiving countries. Forth, respect for countries' cultural and ethnic diversity and for
the human rights of migrant workers and their families. Fifth, the creation of financial
instruments aimed at insuring the efficient use of remittances in productive investment
opportunities. Finally, addressing the social, political and cultural repercussions of
integration processes.
Previous-Next
Top
|
