Intersectionality of Public Discourses About Haitian Immigration in Santiago, Chile
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CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE Urban and social space contested: Intersectionality of public discourses about Haitian immigration in Santiago, Chile. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Mass Communication By Carolina Alzamora May 2019 The thesis of Carolina Alzamora is approved: _________________________________________ ______________ Professor Daniela Gerson Date _______________________________________ ______________ Dr. José Luis Benavides, PhD. Date _________________________________________ ______________ Dr. Jessica Retis, PhD., Chair Date California State University, Northridge ii Table of Contents Signature Page.................................................................................................. ii Table of Contents............................................................................................. iii List of Tables ……………………………………………………………….. v List of Figures …… ……………………………………………………….. vi List of Photos ……………………………………………………………….. vii Abstract............................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1: Introduction...................................................................................... 1 1.1 Significance of the study .................................................................... 7 Chapter 2: Literature review ………………………………………………... 9 2.1 Theoretical framework................................................................................ 9 2.1.1 Migrations and transnational communities ……………………… 12 2.1.2 Latin America and South-South migration ………………………… 23 2.1.3 Global cities of the Global South …………………………………. 32 2.1.4 Space-place and mediated diaspora ……………………………….. 36 2.1.5 Discourses, social representations and mediations ………………. 40 2.1.6 Representations of immigrants in the mainstream media ………. 44 2.1.6.1 Representations of immigrants in the Chilean mainstream media 48 2.1.7 The construction of the white national state of Chile……………. 50 2.2 Background of the case ……………………………………………………. 55 2.2.1 City of Santiago, Chile …………………………………………… 55 2.2.2 Haitian diaspora in America………………………………………. 59 2.2.3 Santiago, Chile and the presence Andean immigration…………… 65 2.2.4 Santiago, Chile and the presence Caribbean immigration………… 69 2.2.5 Chilean Migration Policy ………………………………………… 71 Chapter 3: Methodology ………………………………………………………. 75 3.1 The mainstream media discourse on Haitian immigrants………………. 76 3.2 Haitian immigration ‘s discourse through semi-structured interview……. 83 3.3 Sociological observation in the study of the city ..………………….. 91 3.4 The audio documentary in urban communication… …………………… 97 Chapter 4: Public discourses that claim the public space ………………………. 100 4.1 Social representations in the journalistic discourse ……………………… 103 4.1.2 Macro structures: The themes……………………………………… 105 4.1.3 Rethorical and style resources in the headline…………………… 113 iii 4.1.3.1 Dominant use of official sources ………………………………. 116 4.1.3.2 The numbers and statistics of immigration ……………………. 118 4.1.3.3 Absence of migrant voices and NGOs ………………………. 121 4.1.3.4 Prevalence of specific verbs…………………………………… 127 4.1.4 Micro structures: local coherence, propositions and presuppositions 131 4.1.4.1 Who and how are they ………………………………………… 138 4.1.4.2 The language of them…………………………………………. 142 4.1.4.2.1 The case of Joane Florvil ……………………………… 143 4.1.4.3 The country of them………………………………………… 146 4.1.4.4 What do they want? ………………………………………… 148 4.2 The discourse on the Haitian immigrant experience……………………. 153 4.2.1 The imagined city v/s lived city ……………………………………. 154 4.2.2 Encounter of two cultures…………………………………………. 159 4.2.3 Language and networks: elements of integration………………… 163 4.2.4 Denial of racism and the condemnation of being poor …………… 167 4.2.4.1 The denial of racism in Haitian immigrant discourse ………. 170 4.2.4.2 The condemnation of being poor …………………………… 172 4.2.5 Being Haitian in global contexts ………………………………...... 174 4.2.5.1 Good workers, humble and obedient….. ………………. 179 4.2.6 Vagueness, stereotypes and ambiguity in the mainstream media … 180 4.2.7 A developing diaspora…………………………………………… 184 4.3 Sociological observation: reflecting the city…………………………… 191 4.3.1 Urban settings of Santiago, Chile ………………………………… 194 4.3.2 Urban materiality and the appropriation of the space…………… 197 4.3.3 Social representations about Haitians in Santiago, Chile …………… 199 4.3.4 Communicative practices in Santiago, Chile …………………… 201 4.4 Intersectionality of discourses: media, immigrants, and the city……… 204 4.4.1 The discursive attractiveness of the city of Santiago …………… 206 4.4.2 “The problem” of Haitian immigration as a public discourse…… 208 4.4.3 Racism v/s the discursive multiculturalism in the city of Santiago 211 4.4.3.1 Multiculturalism as a racist discourse ……………………… 215 4.4.4 Acculturation and transculturation ………………………………… 219 4.5 Proposal for journalistic production: the audio documentary…………….. 224 Chapter 5: Conclusions ……………………………………………………. ….. 227 5.1 Limitations and future research…… ……………………………….. 245 References…………………………………………………………………… 246 Appendix A…………………………………………………………………… 255 iv List of Tables Table 1. List of interviewees ………………………………………………. .. 85 Table 2. El Mercurio press ‘s coverage about Haitian immigration ………… 105 Table 3. Style and rethorical resources in the headline……………………… 114 Table 4. Ideological square…..………………………………………………. 137 v List of Figures Figure 1. Map of sociological observation ‘s sites………………………….. 96 Figure 2. Main themes El Mercurio press coverage. Period 2016-2018 ……… 108 Figure 3. Main stylistic and rhethorical resources used in the headline ………. 115 Figure 4. Map of Metropolitan Area, Santiago, Chile…………..…………. .. 166 vi List of Photos Photo 1. El Mercurio, October 4, 2017 ……………………………………… 123 Photo 2. El Mercurio, March 20, 2016 ……………………………………… 134 Photo3. El Mercurio, December 12, 2017 …………………………………… 135 Photo 4. El Mercurio, May 17, 2018 ……………………………………….. 135 Photo 5. El Mercurio, August 25, 2018……………………………………… 136 Photo 6. Around Plaza Italia, Santiago de Chile ……………………………. 194 Photo 7. Haitians hang out in Plaza de Armas, Santiago de Chile ………… 195 Photo 8. Stop bus, Santiago de Chile ………………………………………. 196 Photo 9. Spanish class in población San Enrique de Quilicura……………… 198 Photo 10. Spanish class in población San Enrique de Quilicura …………….. 198 Photo 11. Sign may be seen in bus terminals and public restrooms…………. 202 vii Abstract Urban and Social Space Contested: Intersectionality of public discourses about Haitian immigration in Santiago, Chile. By Carolina Alzamora Master of Arts in Mass Communication The research analyzes the recent urban and social changes in the city of Santiago of Chile, after the increasingly Haitian immigration that occurred during the period 2014- 2017. The research explores concepts such as transnationalism, global city, social discourse, racism, and colonialism to explain features of the developing Haitian diaspora in the Chilean capital city. It is based on a critical analysis of news reports of the newspaper El Mercurio, and semi-structured interviews with Haitian citizens, leaders of civil society organizations and members of the public administration. It analyses the social and urban transformations that have risen since the encounter with the other -Haitian immigrant- to contribute to the study and understanding of mobility population in the Global South, and the so-called South-South Migration. The study addresses the city of Santiago as space of communication demonstrating people’s perceptions and social interactions about and in the urban space are shaped by the media. The analysis of the different public discourses, communicative practices and urban environments allow to identify collective meanings and ideological disputes as well. The changes of the contemporary diasporas in urban environments generate new pro immigrant viii organizations, which confront the economic and politic dominant power. Nevertheless, the unequal access to mainstream media and the social representations of the Haitian immigrants in it, reveals how the symbolic power is distributed and media’s role in the reproduction of hegemonic values. This implies that the urban and social space are in conflict, with new residents claiming it with their needs and demands. ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The displacements of people to urban areas in search of better opportunities are not new. In fact, industrialization’s process of the mid eighteenth-century mobilized thousands of people from the countryside to live in the city, unleashing political, social, economic and urban changes. Currently, the International Organization for Migration (IOM for its acronym in English) estimates that 244 million people worldwide are migrants (IOM, 2018), while 55% of the total population lives in urban areas. By 2050, this trend would reach 68% (UN, 2018). Los desplazamientos de personas hacia zonas urbanas en busca de mejores oportunidades no son nuevos. Los datos históricos dan cuenta de cómo el proceso de industrialización de mediados del siglo XVIII movilizó a miles de personas desde el campo a la ciudad, desencadenando en cambios políticos, sociales, económicos en los entornos urbanos. La Organización Internacional para la Migración (IOM por sus siglas en inglés) estima que actualmente 244 millones de personas en el mundo son migrantes (OIM, 2018). El 55% de la población total vive en zonas urbanas, una tendencia que alcanzaría el 68% para