Control, composition and character of new migration to south‐west Europe: The case of Peruvian women in Barcelona

Abstract

Abstract There is increasing evidence that Spain, like some of its neighbours in the south‐west of Europe, is becoming a country of immigration. Barcelona, the capital of the federal region of Catalonia, has received a large number of internal migrants throughout the twentieth century, and this has occasioned some cultural conflict. The current foreign immigration brings with it the issue of newcomers’ legal status. Increasing undocumented migration has become a barrier to the successful socio‐economic integration of migrants, and has contributed to the formation of a dual labour market. There have been some attempts to reduce this problem, among them the implementation of a Spanish quota system in 1993. This was particularly successful in regularising migrant women working as domestic servants in Barcelona. Peruvian women hence enjoy a number of legal advantages because of the nature of the economic activity they perform, and also because of the preferential administrative treatment they receive as a result of the 1985 ‘foreigner's law’, which reflects the common history of Spain and its colonies. This quota system, combined with structural factors in the country of origin and the existence of firm personal networks among female kin members, means that recent Peruvian migration flows to Spain are increasingly dominated by women. The gender composition of the Peruvian migrant community in Spain is likely to become more balanced in future through family reunion.