Exploring racism and social exclusion of Latin American migrants in a multicultural neighbourhood in Santiago, Chile.

• In Event: Migración internacional y ciudad.

Abstract

Chile is one of the countries with major destination flows from Latin America, becoming one of the quintessence settings to study racism in the context of the current migratory shifts. In such a context, new distinctions and racial formations have emerged, establishing different forms of social exclusion and racism that are performed in the everyday interaction and socio‐cultural practices that take place in residential neighbourhoods. I suggest that the study of ‘race’ and racism needs to consider the role that the city, public spaces and local processes within underprivileged neighbourhoods play in shaping, and being shaped by, racial formations, marking new boundaries of exclusion and inclusion that challenge the ‘right to the city’ of ‘racially marked’ migrants. This research is based on one of the most multicultural boroughs in Santiago, Recoleta, historically located in a territory called ‘La Chimba’ –described as ‘territory of mestizaje’, and the first place where multiculturalism and poverty were combined in colonial times (Márquez, 2013). The aim is to discuss the relevance of the space in reproducing the ideology of racism and reveal how processes of racialisation are materialized in urban spaces, understanding them as product of social interactions, relationships and practices. Based on an urban ethnography, participatory, and visual methods, I show how public spaces are racialised through social practices and interactions, and how the making of ‘race’ in urban spaces have an impact on the way in which migrants negotiate their ‘right to belong’ when they inhabit and navigate the city in the everyday.

Author

• Macarena Bonhomme, Goldsmiths, University of London & COES