Abstract

When we refer to decolonizing gentrification, we attempt to distance ourselves from the global north as we identify Bolivian cross-border merchants as key and silent actors in the transformation of downtown Iquique. Based on this case study, where in-depth interviews were applied and land market studies were carried out, we postulate Migrant Gentrification as a process of unequal appropriation of capital and income by migrant communities, ruling out their exclusive role as potentially displaced. Thus, Migrant Gentrification escapes from the white condition assigned to subjects who initiate reinvestment and speculation processes; however, it is noted that their actions would indirectly limit access to land and housing for other racialized and newcomer migrants.