Abstract

International migration flows to Chile since the mid 1990s have had three important characteristics. First, there was an increase in magnitude; the number of migrants has almost doubled in the last twenty years –although the numbers are still small. Second, there has been a change in areas of origin; new immigrants come mainly from neighboring countries. Third, this has produced a series of distinct and different responses from the state, civil society and the media. In this paper I analyze the way in which the newspapers portrayed the newcomers between 1990 and 2001 and how these new migration flows were attempted to be constructed as a moment of crisis for the Chilean society. Using 126 news pieces and articles that appeared in the Chilean newspapers with the highest circulation I develop an analysis of the main themes of the dominant discussion present in the newspapers. These main themes are a characterization of migration, the source of these new flows, the notion of immigration as a problem, and the need for a migration policy. I tie these themes to a particular historical construction of the European migration that the country received in the late 18th century and to a belief of racial superiority of Chileans with relation to its northern neighbors (Peru and Bolivia).