Diaspora, Social Integration and Rooting of migrants in Santiago de Chile: Imaginary of Future in the Venezuelan Community

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to understand the processes of integration, rootedness and uprooting of Venezuelan migrants living in Santiago, Chile, who have grown increasingly during the last five years, as a result of the economic-political crisis that Venezuela is currently experiencing. We seek to expand knowledge on South-South mobility and in particular in Latin America. We present the results of a qualitative research conducted in 2017 and 2018, based on three temporal axes: exodus and decision to migrate to Chile; settlement and trajectories; and evaluation and imaginary of the future. It is concluded that there is a positive social integration, being relevant both the perception of achieving job success and the experience of participating in a gradual process of cultural miscegenation, contributing to the construction of intercultural coexistence in Santiago. These conditions and situations are generating roots, at least in the short term.

Keywords

• diáspora
• integración
• arraigo
• imaginario
• futuro