The transnational political practices of Colombians in Spain and the United Kingdom: politics ‘here’ and ‘there’

Abstract

Most existing scholarly work available on Colombian migrants’ transnational political practices has emphasized the divisions, mistrust and apathy affecting them. However, research conducted by the author among Colombians in the United Kingdom and Spain departs from previous studies by stressing the broad nature of migrants’ transnational political participation, which involves engagement in both formal and informal politics, at the individual and collective levels, and in initiatives coming from ‘above’ and ‘below’. It also shows how transnational political practices oriented towards the home country occur simultaneously with activities in the host society, contrary to what has generally been thought. This was more the case among Colombians in Spain than among those in the UK, which could be partly explained by differences in the historical development and size of each community, as well as the role played by individual factors, such as migrants’ previous political experiences.

Keywords:

• Transnational migration
• political participation
• Latin America
• Spain
• United Kingdom
• Colombia

Acknowledgements

This article is based on PhD research conducted at Queen Mary, University of London, financed by the ESRC (PTA-030-2002-01565). I want to thank these institutions, and the migrants and others who participated in the study. Gratitude is also due to the two anonymous referees, as well as to Dr Cathy McIlwaine and Professor James Dunkerley, for their useful comments on earlier drafts.

Notes

1. For a review of transnationalism and international migration see Vertovec (2004).

2. I looked at electoral participation, membership of political parties, general interest in political events, participation in state or private initiatives linking the diaspora with the country of origin, as well as the role played by community organizations, the ethnic media, religious institutions and human rights organizations and networks.

3. According to official data, 96 per cent of Colombians living abroad concentrate in ten countries: Venezuela, the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Panama, Mexico and Brazil (Guarnizo 2006a).

4. The information that follows is taken mainly from Guarnizo (2006b) and Open Channels (2000).

5. Although the sample was non-representative and biased towards those who were politically engaged, I also interviewed Colombians with no or very little transnational political participation (seven in Spain, six in the UK).

6. In addition, Colombia has had a bilateral agreement with Spain on dual nationality since 1980. The UK, on the other hand, recognizes dual citizenship.

7. Latin Americans can apply for nationality after two years of continuous residence, compared with five years for refugees and ten years for nationals of other countries. Colombians were the largest group of migrants acquiring Spanish nationality in 2005, with 7,334 (OECD 2007).

8. Spain is currently debating the possibility of granting the right to vote in local elections to migrants from outside the European Union with a specific length of legal residence in the country. However, at the moment, citizens from Colombia cannot vote in Spain or the UK.

9. All names used are pseudonyms, except in the cases of officials or leaders of organizations.

10. To apply for naturalization as a British citizen, UK law asks for five years’ previous residence in the country (or three years if the person is married to a British citizen).

11. Diaspora politics is ‘usually about political disputes over sensitive issues such as national sovereignty and security’ (Østergaard-Nielsen 2003, pp. 762–3).

12. On its website, Aesco states that part of its mission is to ‘formulate and manage cooperation projects that help improve the quality of life of emigrants and potential emigrants as well as their environment, based on the principles of solidarity, co-development and human rights’ (my translation), www.aesco-ong.org (accessed 20 January 2009). See also Aculco's website, www.aculco.org

13. See Bloemraad (2005) on how states can foster, or presumably impede, the ability of migrants to establish and sustain community organizations.

14. Although this is not always stated, these factors play a significant role when comparing the transnational linkages of Latin American migrants in the United States and Europe, which is evidenced in the lesser institutionalization of transnational politics in the latter (less active presence of Colombian political parties at election time, less penetration by Colombian diasporic initiatives, etc.).