Spectral Latinidad: the Work of Latinx Migrants and Small Charities in London

The London School of Economics and Political Science Spectral Latinidad: the work of Latinx migrants and small charities in London Ulises Moreno-Tabarez A thesis submitted to the Department of Geography and Environment of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, December 2018 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 93,762 words. Page 2 of 255 Abstract This thesis asks: what is the relationship between Latina/o/xs and small-scale charities in London? I find that their relationship is intersectional and performative in the sense that political action is induced through their interactions. This enquiry is theoretically guided by Derrida's metaphor of spectrality and Massey's understanding of space. Derrida’s spectres allow for an understanding of space as spectral, and Massey’s space allows for spectres to be understood in the context of spatial politics. This theoretical interaction is illustrated in an ethnographic account of the relationship in question. I propose that Latinidad be understood as a spectral subjectivity that is spatialised largely in consequence to its relation to charity work, especially that which is performed by small-scale charities in London. The spatialisation of Latinidad through charity work is explored in relation to three scales: individual, organisational, and the urban setting. The empirical chapters that explore these relations are Chapter 5 which focuses on the individual scale, specifically users and volunteers of small charities and the ways they spatialise Latinidad through recreational and educational work, emphasising how these practices are haunted by structural inequalities in housing, health, and labour conditions. Chapter 6 focuses on the organisational scale, specifically on the work small-scale charities do to spatialise Latinidad through educational, recreational, and advocacy work. Chapter 7 focuses on charity work in London’s urban setting which allows for an examination of the urban border, that is practices that seek to regulate migrants’ experience of urban space; the urban border herein is instantiated in policy trends that characterise charity sector politics in relation to the state and the market. I conclude with a chapter reflecting on the political potentiality of Latinidad as a spectral subjectivity—the ability to forge coalitions across ethnic and geographical imaginaries, and its limitations as survival mechanisms that expand notions of what it means to be Latinx in London. Page 3 of 255 Acknowledgements There are no words to express the amount of love and gratitude I have for the two core individuals that have carried me through to this stage: Professor Hyun Bang Shin and Professor Christine Whitehead. Prof Shin has been my main supervisor since the early days of this PhD programme; I am in awe of him, of his work ethic and commitment to critical scholarship, of his patience and approach to his responsibility of care as an educator and fellow traveller. Prof Whitehead has been my other rock throughout the second half of this journey as my mentor and director at LSE London; it would have been impossible to finish without her generosity, fortitude, humbleness, solidarity, and care. Continuing my journey through academia, I hope to emulate Hyun and Christine, for they are exemplary mentors and role models. Thank you! I would like to thank my official and unofficial teachers during my time at the LSE: Dr Ryan Centner, Prof Gareth Jones, Dr Alan Mace, Dr Sharad Chari, Dr Jen Tarr, Prof Claire Mercer, Prof Sylvia Chant, and Dr Nancy Holman. Sitting through their classes, lectures, seminars, or engaging in casual conversation about intellectual life helped me forge a sense of community, and I thank them for their lessons. Prior to this amazing group of scholars, I was also lucky enough to have worked with the late Prof Robert DeChaine, Prof David Olsen, Prof Bryant Alexander, Prof Karma Chávez, Prof Sara McKinnon, Kenneth Lee, and Josh Miller. Thank you all for allowing me a space alongside you. I have a deep sense of gratitude to and for my coworkers at LSE London whom, alongside Christine Whitehead, have been key figures to my survival in academia while learning so many different facets to research. Fanny Blanc, my heroine and my partner in crime: thank you for looking out for me. Kath Scanlon and Melissa Fernández-Arrigoitia, thank you for your mentorship and friendship, you both remind me and are part of my migratory homes. Kiana Otsuka, thank you for your love. Thank you to my fellow travellers, friends, and colleagues for your encouragement, intellectual engagement, and compassion: Laura and Gil Antona, Andrea Gibbons, Jaime Guzmán, Matt Birkinshaw, Tucker Landesman, Sin Yee Koh, Silvia Posocco, Antoine and Ivana Paccoud, Daysy Morales, Claus Mullie, Joe Shaw, Ana Paola Gutierrez, Sandeep Bakshi, Carl Truedsson, Jeanne Firth, Carwyn Morris, Paroj Banerjee, Suzanne Galyean, Elaine Gascoyne, Sam Colegate, Lee Mager, Meredith Whitten, Taneesha Mohan, Jay Sun, and EJ Gonzalez-Polledo, Michael Hill Jr., Ana Paola Gutierrez, Laura Barker, Dzifa Afonu, Raju Ragé, Miranda Iossifidis, Marie Haverfield, Diana Solorzano, Carwyn Morris, Alicea Thomas, Scott Rodriguez, and Tala Bai. Without the following people my PhD research project would not be possible: the late Claudio Chipana, Lucila Granada, Nancy Liscano, Patria Román-Velázquez, Anneka Gonzalez, Stefanie Borkum, Daniel Goldman, Hinda Abbou, Marlith Tenazoa del Aguila, Celeste Cardenas, Marlene de Nobrega, Andres Cardona Bolaños, Silvia Rothslinger, Soledad Muñiz, Ingrid Guyon, my students in my English classes, fellow participants of the My Latin Elephant project, CASA community theatre, LADPP, Latin American House, InsightShare, Fotosynthesis, and all my fellow volunteers and charity service users. Lastly, thank you to my family for your support. May we have better times ahead, and may we laugh, cry, and do the necessary healing work to care for our spectres. For my sister, Leticia. Page 4 of 255 Table of Contents Acknowledgements............................................................................................................4 List of abbreviations ...........................................................................................................8 Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................... 10 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 10 1.2 Intersections between spectrality, Latinidad, and charity work ................................................... 12 1.3 Intersections between spectrality, Latinidad, and charity work ................................................... 14 1.4 Research question and rationale ................................................................................................... 20 1.5 Thesis structure .............................................................................................................................. 23 Chapter 2: Spatialising spectres: conceptual framework .................................................... 28 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 28 2.2 Spectres at large ............................................................................................................................. 28 2.3 Deconstruction and the spectres of Marx, seeking purpose ......................................................... 32 2.4 Deconstructing Massey’s space: the spectrality of space ............................................................. 38 2.5 Technologies of migrant spectralisation and spectral Latinidad ................................................... 43 2.6 Charity, a spectral advocate and an advocate for the spectre ...................................................... 48 2.7 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 51 Chapter 3: Conjuring spectres: historical trajectories......................................................... 52 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 52 3.2 Latinx Spectres: technologies of spectralisation in Latin America................................................. 53 3.3 Iterations of charity work in England: state, markets, and the poor ............................................. 57 3.4 Charity work and migrants: lessons on responding to conditions on the ground ........................ 60 3.5 Histories of Latinx charities and their political context ................................................................

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