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In the Shadow of Empire and Nation : Chilean Migration to the United

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In the Shadow of Empire and Nation : Chilean Migration to the United IN THE SHADOW OF EMPIRE AND NATION: CHILEAN MIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1950 By Cristián Alberto Doña Reveco A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Sociology History 2012 ABSTRACT IN THE SHADOW OF EMPIRE AND NATION: CHILEAN MIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES SINCE 1950 By Cristián Alberto Doña Reveco This dissertation deals with how Chilean emigrants who have migrated to the US since the 1950s remember and define their migration decision in connection to changing historical processes in both the country of origin and that of destination. Using mainly oral histories collected from 30 Chileans I compare the processes that led to their migration; their memories of Chile at the time of migration; the arrival to the United States, as well as their intermediate migrations to other countries; their memories of Chile during the visits to the country of origin; and their self identifications with the countries of origin and destination. I also use census data and migration entry data to characterize and analyze the different waves of Chilean migration to the United States. I separate each wave by a major historical moment. The first wave commences at the end of World War II and the beginnings of the Cold War; the second with the military coup of September 11, 1973; the third with the economic crisis of 1982; and the fourth with the return to democratic governments in 1990. Connecting the oral histories, migration data and historiographies to current approaches to migration decision-making, the study of social memory, and the construction of migrant identities, this dissertation explores the interplay of these multiple factors in the social constructions underlying the decisions to migrate. Copyright by CRISTIÁN ALBERTO DOÑA REVECO 2012 For Cata, Emilia and Camila; any achievements are only worth it with you by my side. And for my parents, Fernando and Helia, I hope to be able to provide my daughters the same support and encouragement you have always given me. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As I complete this part of the road I feel extremely fortunate of the love and support that I have felt throughout the entire process of the dissertation, my doctoral studies and before. I first thank Cata, Emilia, Camila and my parents Fernando and Helia. Cata has been my companion and best friend now for more than fifteen years. She has always been a great source of support and pride and in the last year she took the reins of our home, daughters and my life; making it possible for me to finish. I would not have been able to complete this process without her. My daughters, Emilia and Camila, so understanding that their dad had to work but at the same time could not wait for him to be done to play with him again. I also want to thank the continuous support of my parents. They have always pushed me to be better and better, but their support is more than that. Our weekly conversations have always been for me a chance to reconnect, to bounce ideas, to express my fears and my concerns. Their blind faith in my success is something that pushes me to be better is every aspect of my life. Since the beginning, I have had a wonderful doctoral and dissertation committee. My sociology chair Brendan Mullan has always been there to give me great advice on teaching, dissertation and academic topics in general, especially when I was most discouraged with this document. My history chair, Peter Beattie, whose comments on the dissertation opened new ideas and influence to think in deeper comparative ways. I learned enormously from Dr. Moch, who opened my eyes to a wonderful literature on migration that I had no idea existed and encouraged me to do a dual degree in sociology and history. Stephanie Nawyn has always been supportive and encouraging, her comments to my work has always made it stronger. Ed Murphy, whose reading and criticism of my dissertation made me rethink every argument and provided v me with sources that have opened new ways in my research in general. From Ed I also learn to put things in perspective and acknowledge first my family. Isabel Ayala has given me support and confidence even from before she became part of my committee. I also have to thank Alesia Montgomery who has pushed me to go deeper in my theoretical conceptualizations. Her questions have always been the best questions, the kind that are always interesting, intelligent and encourage you to provide great answers. Toby Ten Eyck has always been supportive and a great help in terms of my teaching and allowing me to develop other areas of interest through research. Ray Jussaume, the assistantships he gave me during my last year have allowed me to complete my dissertation research. I also have a debt of gratitude to Tammy Spangler, Sociology department’s graduate secretary, always having the time to answer every single one of my questions and providing me constantly with chocolates. In the other side, Kelli Kolasa, was able to help me manage a dual degree flawlessly. The rest of the sociology office including John, Shannon and Debi have always been most helpful from the most little to the most complicated matters. John Schwarz secured computers to run my large census data files and make it possible to have a very technologically smooth dissertation defense. During my time at Michigan State I met many wonderful people and made great friends. First of all my apologies if I do not mention all of you, but the list is long and be sure that I have learn many a great things from you. From my colleagues in sociology and history: Linda Gjokaj, Naomi Glogower, Leigh-Anne Goins, Breanne Grace, Alex Galarza, Laurel Hilliker, David Bidwell, and Alexandra Gelbard. My friends from the Latin American Community: Juan Pedro, Oscar and Alondra, Erick and Eliana, Javier and Leti, Ale and Dave, Elvira and Roberto, Diana and Alcides, Gastón and Kamila, Pablo and Laura and Andrés. vi My doctoral studies were funded by a fellowship with the Fulbright Commission and by Conicyt (Comisión Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología – Chile). To these two organizations my most sincere thanks for trusting in me and making the possibility of doing a doctorate in the US a reality. The research stage was also funded through grants from the Tinker Foundation, from MSU’s Graduate School, and from the Department of Sociology and the Department of History. Research awards by the College of Social Science and the Julian Zamora Research Institute also help finance my data collection process. My most heartfelt thanks go as well to the women and men that open their houses and hearts and allowed me to record their stories. Without their trust and time this research would not have been possible. I have learned so much from them. Their stories of fear, success, defeat and hope have given me the courage to carry on. I can only hope to be as truthful to their stories as they deserve. Lastly, a return to the origins. About twenty years ago, and long before I decided to study sociology, I was an exchange student in Albury, NSW, Australia. There lived one Chilean family formed by Hugo and Rita Diaz and their two children. Hugo and Rita arrived from Chile in the late 1960s and until then had never been able to return. Throughout my year living there I got to know Hugo and Rita very well, they told me their story of migration to Australia, their nostalgia for Chile, and their hopes for the future. I also learned the complexities of remaining Chilean. While is very unlikely that they will ever read this document, I wanted to thank them for planting the seeds of this dissertation. East Lansing, December 2012 vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES xii LIST OF FIGURES xiv EPIGRAPH 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 2 Periodization 2 Research Question 6 Research Objectives 6 Relevance of Research 7 Structure of the Dissertation 8 CHAPTER II MIGRATION: THE SOCIO-HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE DECISION TO MIGRATE 11 I. Introduction 11 II. Setting the stage: Levels of analysis, agency-structure integration and rational action 13 Levels of sociological analysis 13 Agency-structure debates 19 Rational Action 27 III. The migration decision in migration studies 30 Migration systems 33 The decision to migrate 38 An integrated model of migration decision 45 The role of memory in migration research 48 IV. Between numbers and narratives 49 Oral histories 51 Immigration Statistics and Census data 59 Consular information 62 Published sources on Chilean History 63 V. Conclusion 65 viii CHAPTER III CHILEAN MIGRATION TO THE US SINCE THE 1950S: A LOOK FROM THE RECEIVING COUNTRY 67 I. Introduction 67 II. A brief history of the Chilean migration to the US to 1950 68 III. Between two turning points: Chilean migration flows to the US between 1950 and 1973 74 IV. Migration lows in dictatorial times 89 V. Migration flows in a neoliberal democracy, 1990 to 2011 98 VI. Conclusion 106 CHAPTER IV YO ME VINE DE AVENTURERO: COLD WAR MODERNIZATION, MIDDLE CLASS IDEOLOGY, AND MIGRATION (1950-1973) 111 I. Introduction 111 II. The United States and Chile at the onset of the Cold War 117 Modernization theory: the ideological and theoretical corpus of the Cold War 121 Modernization theory in Latin America 123 Modernization theory in Chile 125 III. Towards the beacon of modernity: deciding to migrate 131 IV. Middle class ideology and migration 145 V. The coup from abroad: September 11, 1973 and its aftermath 156 VI.
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