Bolivia in Motion:

Migration Patterns of a Nation in Flux

Robert C. Thornett
George Mason University
Department of Geography
April 20, 2009

Abstract

Bolivia has long been a major source of both internal and international migration. This
paper examines the reasons why Bolivians choose to leave and the destinations they
choose. Specifically, it focuses on the internal destination of Santa Cruz and the external
destinations of Argentina and Arlington, VA. New immigration reforms, such as the
Patria Grande program in Argentina, as well as a new indigenous president and a new
constitution in Bolivia, have changed the emigration picture in recent years, providing
more support for Bolivia’s indigenous majority. However, whether such reforms are
sustainable in the long run remains to be seen.
Introduction

Approximately half the Bolivian population has migrated internally or

internationally. It is a citizenry on the move. Bolivians have formed strong communities

around the world in the United States, Spain, Argentina, even Japan and Switzerland. In

2008, the net migration rate for the country was -1.14, which given its population

9,247,816 of translates into a loss of 10,543 inhabitants in this year to emigration. This

rate is surpassed in South America only by Ecuador and Guyana, but has been rising of

late, likely due to the ascendancy of Bolivia’s first indigenous President, Evo Morales. In

addition, numerous Bolivians migrate from rural to urban areas within the country. In

virtually all cases of migration, the common theme is the search for work in this poorest

of South American nations.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Net_migration_rate_world.PNG Source: http://www.indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?c=bl&v=27
Fig. 1 Net migration trends. With a current net migration rate of -1.14, Bolivia lies within a large region
spanning middle and South America in which negative net migration is the norm (left). In South America,
only Ecuador and Guyana have lower net migration. At right, the chart shows that Bolivian net migration
has risen significantly in the past decade, indicating a decrease in emigration. The recent election and
reforms of Evo Morales no doubt contribute to this trend.

2
 This paper will give an overview of the economic situation that causes Bolivians

to migrate, and then delve into patterns and realities of both internal and external

migration. In doing so, it will focus on both the factors involved in leaving as well as the

circumstances Bolivians encounter in destination regions. In particular, it will focus on

Santa Cruz, a popular internal migration destination, and Argentina, a popular external

migration destination. It will also examine the nature of Bolivian communities abroad,

and finally make some observations about the future of Bolivian migration given recent

events in the country.

Primary Push Factor: Economics

A brief overview of the Bolivian economic situation makes it clear why so many

Bolivians migrate. Though it has the 15th-lowest population density in the world

(8.4/km2) and a wealth of natural resources, Bolivia is the poorest country in South

America, with a per capita GDP of $4500 (CIA 2009). Of nearly 9 million inhabitants,

59% live in poverty and 24% in extreme poverty, and the country has long been

dependent on foreign aid. The historic inequality between colonizers and indigenous

peoples now manifests as inequality between urban vs. rural, European and mestizo vs.

indigenous. Poverty is highest in rural Andean areas; the country is “basically divided

between the western altiplano, home to the impoverished indigenous majority, and the

richer eastern departments, which account for most of the country's natural gas

production, industry and gross domestic product.” (Chavez, 2007). Other major factors in

Bolivia’s lack of wealth are its landlocked geography, preventing access to the sea, its

history of political volatility and corruption, historic lack of foreign investment, and

poorly-developed roads, telecommunications, and other infrastructure.

3
 Fig. 2 Geographies of wealth and ethnicity.
Generally, the intermontane altiplano is home to
impoverished rural indigenous peoples (below,
left), many of whom live on $1 per day, while
eastern areas including Santa Cruz are more
mestizo and wealthier, and contain valuable
natural resources such as oil and gas (below,
right).

Source: http://www.boliviangeographic.com/images/Bolivia
%20Map.gif

Indigenous Bolivians such as these are concentrated

on the altiplano and in the western regions of the
country. Source: graphitef...blogs.com/main2004/07/metro_is_free.html
Natural gas refinery in Santa Cruz, in the eastern
region of Bolivia bordering Brazil, the largest
importer of Bolivian gas.
Source:
http://www.infolatam.com/img/banco/G_1659__324511b48106f17.jpg

Source: www.narconews.com/Issue33/article1005.html Source: www.flickr.com/photos/tarijaindustrial/1396942167/

Fig. 3 Control of natural gas: continuous source of conflict

Privatization of natural gas in the 1990s led to major protests and the threat of civil war (left). The gas
fields are concentrated in the eastern provinces among wealthier businessmen who have strong ties to the
developed world (Wilcox, 2009) However, in 2006 Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president,
wrested control from elites and nationalized the gas and oil industries, sending armed troops to the gas
fields (right). Now, it is eastern leaders who have cried out for autonomy and threatened secession and
civil war. Bolivia’s natural gas reserves are now considered the second largest in South America, giving
some hope for a brighter future.

4
Internal Migration: Moving to the City, Staying Connected to the Countryside

Internal migration is predominantly rural to urban migration from rural highland

areas on the altiplano to cities such as La Paz (including its suburb El Alto),

Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz, where jobs are more available (Levy, 2001). Whereas in

other countries the capital city has been the magnet for migration, in Bolivia the move

has been spread across several urban areas. (Levy, 2001) Overall, however, it is clear that

the rural and highland areas are emptying, while the cities are filling up.

Many Bolivans, have “one foot in the city and one in the countryside,” as Levy

(2001) puts it. They work in workshops and factories in the city but remain connected

with agriculture and family in rural areas. Levy gives the example of a woman who

migrated with her husband to Cochabamba from a mining town and works in a ceramics

workshop which sells its products internationally according to fair-trade practices. When

her mother visits from her hometown, she brings a small herd of sheep, puts them out to

pasture behind the workshop, and works on the ceramics as well. It is notable that the

young and educated are typically the first to migrate, leaving behind the older and least

qualified; this explains in part why the countryside suffers the worst poverty. (Levy,

2001)1

1
A similar phenomenon exists currently in small towns throughout central Mexico, where a massive
section of the population has migrated to the United States or to large cities. The few who are left behind
are often not qualified or sufficient to keep the towns functioning and thriving. Mexico has become the
world’s largest exporter of its people, leaving behind what Prof. Rodolfo Zamora describes as
“communities which will not be able to reproduce, neither economically nor socially, because the
demographics of migration have condemned them to disappear.” See Gibler, J. Mexico’s Ghost Towns: The
Other Side of the Immigration Debate, In These Times, May 29, 2008
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3693/mexicos_ghost_towns/

5
Destination: Santa Cruz, Magnet for Immigrants in the “Other Bolivia”

The department of Santa Cruz, including its capital Santa Cruz de la Sierra, is the

largest and most economically important of Bolivia’s nine departments2. In contrast to the

“economic paralysis” (Soldan, 2007) that afflicts much of the rest of Bolivia, Santa Cruz

is fast-growing, commercial, and modern. In a country that considers itself Andean, the

region is a warm, tropical, Amazonian enclave bordering Brazil. (Soldan, 2007) To

many, these are distinctly “two Bolivias.”

Bolivia is one of only three Latin American countries in which Amerindians form

the majority (along with Guatemala and Peru), most notably Aymara peoples living on

the altiplano and the Quechua living in the temperate mid-altitude Andes. But unlike the

traditional image of Bolivians as reclusive, austere, traditional highland Indians, known

collectively as collas, citizens of the eastern lowlands of Santa Cruz are known as

cambas and consider themselves more upbeat, progressive, industrious, and worldly.

(Some observers also characterize them as uncouth, frivolous, and superficial, noting

their penchant for continuous beauty pageants naming Soy Queens, Carnival Queens,

pint-sized queens, etc.) To be sure, the wave of modernity and commercialization that has

bypassed much of Bolivia has taken root in Santa Cruz. Historically, the region has been

home to immigrants not only from Europe but from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, and

even Japan. The major draw is that land prices are extremely low and the climate is ideal

for soy and sugarcane agriculture. (Soldan, 2007) One female immigrant from Curitiba,

Brazil, for example, sold all her property at home and bought four times as much land in

Santa Cruz. (Soldana, 2007)

2
Departments are similar to states or provinces in other countries.

6
Source: hhttp://www.thailandfriends.com/
Source: www.flickr.com/photos/sbeebe/3275032616/
index.php?name=Journal&view=journal&juid=66512

Fig.4 Santa Cruz department from above. The satellite photo image at left shows the widespread clearing
of tropical rainforest in eastern Bolivia to make room for agriculture. This area is along the Rio Parapeti.
At right, an aerial photo shows soy and rice farms stretching across these warm lowlands, which are ideal
for agriculture. The irrigation systems that are visible are among the technological advances brought to
the area during the 1960s. Since then it has exploded in production.

The capital city of Santa Cruz, located at the foot of the Andes, has exploded and

is now the largest in Bolivia at over 1.5 million. Long a small marginal town,

transportation infrastructure, modernized agriculture and industry, and the U.S.-based

Gulf Oil Company arrived in the 1950s. Across the department, oil and natural gas

remain key resources, but there is also diverse agriculture, mining, and industry. The

region generates one-third of national GNP, 40% of all taxes, and attracts 48% of all

foreign investment, compared to 15% in the capital, La Paz.

Though many indigenous collas from the west have now migrated eastward and

settled in Santa Cruz, there is palpable tension and distrust between them and cambas.

(Soldan, 2007) To many cambas, the rest of Bolivia from which collas come is plagued

by backwardness, negativity, and continuous protest, while their region continues to grow

and produce. The Morales presidency, to them, represents the threat of subjugation to the

west, the “Indianization” or “Aymarization” of Bolivia, a potential for the loss of many

7
years of progress and a return to backwardness. (Soldan, 2007) On the other hand, to

collas the cambas of Santa Cruz represent spoiled, whiter, European landed oligarchs

who have long exploited for themselves natural resources that rightfully belong to the

entire nation. Thus colla immigrants to Santa Cruz must bear in their day-to-day affairs

the effects of inflamed regional tensions within Bolivia.3 As Soldana (2007) puts it, “an

instinctive distrust…colors relations of any sort between the two groups,” even the sale of

pirated DVDs on the streets. That this conflict is real is illustrated by the 2005 beating of

several colla peasants demonstrating in Santa Cruz by members of the UJC (Santa Cruz

Youth Union), as well as a 2006 standoff in the streets between colla and camba

protesters. (Soldana, 2007)

In sum, indigenous internal migrants from the west have established barrios in

Santa Cruz and often find better prospects for work and prosperity, but they do not fit in.

The tension between regional and ethnic identities forced to work together mirrors the

larger tension within Bolivia as a whole. Nevertheless, the opportunities for internal

migrants in rapidly-growing Santa Cruz provide an alternative to international migration,

allowing Bolivians to stay closer to their families and in familiar environs, perhaps

avoiding exploitation abroad.

3
These tensions have led to a recent referendum calling for Santa Cruz to become an autonomous region
which retains control its own resources. As yet this movement has been unsuccessful.

8
Source: news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/ Source: http://www.hacer.org/report/2009/04/bolivia-sin-resistencia-
newsid_5100000/5100882.stm no-habra.html

Fig.5 Two Bolivias. While Bolivia’s indigenous majority has celebrated the election of the nation’s first
indigenous President, Evo Morales (left), not everyone in Bolivia is pleased. In the commercially thriving
eastern department of Santa Cruz (right), demonstrators in 2009 voiced their belief that Morales is
governing only for Indians, and not for the entire country. They fear that his policies of nationalization of
resources that their department has built and controlled could threaten to undo the progress that they have
managed to achieve.

The Bolivian Diaspora: Geography of an Exodus

One out of every four persons born in Bolivia now lives in another country,

constituting 2.5 million Bolivians living abroad. (Whitesell 2009, Claure, 2007) As

Whitesell (2009) puts it, “mothers leave children, fathers leave families, recent graduates

leave their homes, all to seek some slice of opportunity that, for many, they cannot find at

home.” For many young rural Bolivians, the decision is not whether they will leave their

towns but whether they will migrate to one of the major cities in Bolivia or out of the

country. The most popular destination countries are Argentina (1.5 million), United

States (300,000), Brazil (200,000), and Spain (250,000), but Bolivian communities can

also be found in Japan, Italy, Switzerland, and Israel (Whitesell, 2009). Salaries for

Bolivian emigrants in these destinations are on average six times their salary at home

(Whitesell, 2009) Remittances back to Bolivia from these migrants abroad totaled $1.1

billion in 2008, an estimated 5-9% of GDP, outstripping national revenues from natural

9
gas, one of its largest resources, by $160 million (Claure, 2007) and doubling the total

foreign direct investment in the country.4 They are so significant that they have paid for

entire multi-story housing developments, and the Morales administration has been

discussing the need for policies that would help channel these funds to maximize their

impact on development (Claure, 2007). Morales has also pushed strongly for the right of

Bolivians living abroad, mostly of whom are part of his electorate base, to vote in

Bolivian elections.

For many Bolivian migrants, their stay abroad is for work only, temporarily, and

with the idea of helping their relatives at home in mind. Some go for only a season or a

few years, make money, return, and then go again, perhaps to a different country, several

years later. Ironically, it is the desire to provide for their families, rooted in traditional

Andean solidarity, which drives many Bolivians to leave them. (Whitesell, 2009) These

ties “operate at the community level to create strong networks of emigrants in the new

country, often from the same Bolivian town or village, that finance, support, and sustain

newcomers.” (Whitesell, 2009) It gives many Bolivians a dream and a desire to return to

their homeland, their family, and their “true identity” (Whitesell, 2009).

But for others, going back remains a dream indefinitely, and they make new lives

for themselves overseas. Many are able to bring their families over to Barcelona, Buenos

Aires, or Arlington, and settle permanently. It is often a difficult choice, and is different

for each individual.

In most cases, the motivation for Bolivians who migrate abroad is chiefly poverty,

a push factor; they are pulled to a particular destination only by a vague notion of what

lies in store for them there. Rural Bolivians living in poverty frequently lack the means of
4
Bolivia has the second-highest natural gas reserves in South America, behind Venezuela. (Claure, 2007)

10
communication that could inform them about their options. (Whitesell, 2009) They often

go unsure of where they will work and live when they arrive, and thus are susceptible to

numerous forms of exploitation in some destinations, which is a significant problem,

especially among women, discussed below. However, again, Bolivians abroad typically

find strong networks of fellow emigrants that help them navigate in their new home away

from home.

Despite their large numbers, Bolivians living abroad tend to be relatively

invisible. They work hard and tend to keep a low profile. (Levy, 2001) In many cases,

they are women traveling alone, sometimes leaving children behind. (Valente, 2001) In

certain countries, such as Argentina, they experience xenophobic or condescending

attitudes from natives, as discussed below. Some have secondary or even tertiary

education; in such cases, it is not uncommon to find domestic employees with more

education than their employer. (Valente, 2001)

Destination: Argentina

Argentina attracts the largest number of emigrants not only from Bolivia but from

South America in general. It is the largest regional immigration hub in the southern cone,

consistently attracting migrants despite recent economic crises and unemployment levels

regularly exceeding 10%, hitting 22% in 2002. (Jachimowicz, 2006, Byrnes, 2006) For

Bolivians, Argentina is close in proximity and poses no language barrier, as does Brazil.

Argentina’s positive net migration rate of .4, in contrast to Bolivia’s negative rate

of -1.14, indicates an overall gain in population in 2008. Yet, in inverse relation to

Bolivia, in which negative net migration is a result of huge out-migration and virtually

non-existent in-migration, Argentina has retained a positive net migration rate despite

11
losing large numbers of educated citizens who have emigrated in search of opportunities

in Europe and the United States. For example, from 2001-2003, a period of economic

crisis, an estimated 255,000 Argentineans emigrated, mostly to Spain, Italy, the United

States, and Israel. The immigrants who have more than replaced them are predominantly

Paraguayans, Bolivians, Chileans, Uruguayans and other regional neighbors (Fig. 6).

These newer immigrants are largely of Amerindian or mestizo ethnicity, in contrast to the

97% white-European background that characterizes modern Argentineans.

Fig. 6 Top Eight Source Countries in Argentina

as a Percentage of Foreign Born Population,
2001.
Bolivia is second only to Paraguay in numbers of
emigrants living in Argentina. Spain and Italy,
traditionally the largest sources of immigrants to
Argentina, have now been surpassed by countries
with very different ethnic compositions. Moreover,
especially in the early 20th century but also today,
many Argentineans are returning to Spain, Italy,
and other countries of origin.

The estimated 1.5 million Amerindian Bolivians living in Argentina stand out

physically in stark contrast to the overwhelmingly white-European native population.

Argentina has historically been known as a crisol de razas or racial melting pot, but these

races shared a common European heritage. Eurocentric ideals in Argentina date back to

19th century, when the nation’s founders explicitly aimed policies and even Article 25 of

the 1853 constitution, still in effect, toward eliminating ethnic minorities and

simultaneously encouraging European immigration.5 The article’s sponsor was Juan

5
Article 25 reads: “The Federal Government will encourage European immigration; and will not restrict,
limit, nor tax the entry of any foreigner into the territory of Argentina who comes with the goal of working
the land, bettering industry, or introducing or teaching sciences or the arts.”

12
Alberdi, a liberal revolutionary idealist for whom “all that is civilized is European.”6 This

legacy of Eurocentric immigration has endured, illustrated by Argentina’s current 97%

white-European population.

Only since the latter half of the 20th century has Argentina has received significant

numbers of mestizo and indigenous immigrants, including Bolivians. They work in two

main destinations, the agricultural areas near the northern border and Buenos Aires. In

the 1980s and 1990s, waves of emigrants of varying economic means from all over

Bolivia boarded buses and flocked to Buenos Aires, working in construction, the service

sector, and textile factories. (Whitesell, 2009) Some were able to save enough to open

factories or workshops of their own. (Whitesell, 2009) However, as economic crises hit in

the late 1990s, many Bolivians “sensed that trouble was brewing and returned to Bolivia

or left directly for other destinations like the United States or Spain.” (Whitesell, 2009)

Since then, only those from the most destitute regions of Bolivia have migrated to

Argentina, where the Bolivian community is “splitting at the seams.” (Whitesell, 2009)

Bolivians in Argentina frequently encounter xenophobia, condescension, and

racism. In 2001, Secretary of State Guido di Tella anticipated that “in 2020, 20% of the

population will be Bolivian and Paraguayan” and stated that “we want to be near the rich

and the beautiful…we don’t want to be with the horrible people” (Grimson, 2001).

During recent economic crises, and despite little change in their numbers, bolitas, as they

are referred to derogatorily, have become “easily identifiable scapegoats”, perceived as

6
Alberdi’s belief was that all but certain peoples, particularly the French and English, were incapable of
civilization and impeded the progress of nation-building. Ironically, he even believed that Hispanic and
Christian forces were detrimental to progress. (Juan Bautista Alberdi, Wikipedia entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberdi) Such theories of racial superiority and social engineering to “improve
the species” were typical of Enlightenment ideas spread in the 18th and 19th centuries by thinkers from
Hume to Darwin, fueled by tales of experiences of Europeans and savage natives during an era of
colonization abroad. Later in the 19th century, the government would go so far as to subsidize boat passages
for European immigrants. (Jachimowicz, 2006)

13
stealing jobs in areas of the economy that Argentineans only lately have been willing to

accept due to lowered economic expectations (Grimson, 2001). Bolivians were also

publicly scapegoated by the Secretary of Migration in 1999 for a rise in delinquency,

insecurity, and crime, despite subsequent statements to the contrary by the Federal Police,

who said that “the number of foreigners engaged in theft and crime is very small, around

5-7%.” (Grimson, 2007) In reality, Bolivians as a group are notably peaceful, law-

abiding, and hard-working. Amazingly, in the poorest country in South America the

overall crime rate, based on Interpol data, is 117, far lower than that of Japan, 1710,

considered an extremely safe country, and the United States, 4124. Burglaries in Bolivia

are virtually non-existent. (Winslow, 2009)

Racism and condescension toward immigrants is no secret in Argentina. Words

like bolita, boliguay, and negro are all associated with derogatory attitudes toward

immigrants. Tellingly, surveys of Argentines in the 1990s revealed that 55% of

Argentines distrusted Bolivians, 55% thought that Argentines do not like Bolivians, but

also that 63% believe that their fellow Argentines are racist. (Grimson, 2001) More

graphically, in 2001 an Argentine guard threw a Bolivian woman from a moving train

because she would not pay her fare, while the passengers “watched impassively.”

(Valente, 2001)

14
 Movie still from Bolivia, 2001.
An excellent Argentine movie, Bolivia (2001, Dir.
Adrian Caetano), highlights the difficult life and
scapegoating of Bolivian immigrants in Buenos
Aires. The main character, played by non-
professional actor Freddy Flores (pictured),
migrates from Bolivia after his job in the coca
fields disappears. He is hired as a cook in Buenos
Aires for a miniscule wage, and is harassed by
police and blamed by clientele for a variety of
their problems during a time of national economic
crisis.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boliviaphoto.jpg

Despite negative attitudes toward Bolivians in Argentina, they have had little

trouble getting into the country. Despite a few unsuccessful attempts at regulation and

monitoring, Argentina has generally had a long tradition of open borders, and as a result

the country has over the past decade amassed huge numbers of undocumented Bolivians.

Of late, however, many of these illegal workers have been brought to Argentina by

exploitative textile sweatshop owners, sometimes Bolivians themselves, who round up

workers in small towns and rural areas in Bolivia through radio ads or direct solicitation,

promising high wages and excellent housing conditions. (Arrieta, 2008) Said one

sweatshop recruiter who agreed to talk with Argentina’s La Nacion: “You tell them 100

dollars and they kiss your hand.” (Alvarado, 2008) The migrants, frequently women, end

up working in clandestine sweatshops located in residential neighborhoods of Buenos

Aires such as Caballito, Floresta, and Villa del Parque. Astoundingly, Buenos Aires was

said last year to be home to over 4,000 illegal sweatshops, while 78% of the nation’s

textile industry workers were in an illegal work situation (Alvarado, 2008). Bolivian

textile workers often endure slave labor conditions, working from 8 am to 1 am seven

15
days a week for miniscule salaries. Many are forced to sleep in between the sewing

machines with several others, including their children, in small rooms of two square

meters, and are not allowed to leave the building through much of the week. Emotional

abuse is common, as owners withhold wages and threaten to take away workers’

documents or turn them in to the police. These sweatshops have eluded government

control in part because they are commonly set up in inconspicuous urban townhomes, not

conventional factory buildings. Also, sweatshops are largely invisible to the fashion

design firms who order the garments, as they are subcontractors to larger textile firms

who hold the official production contracts. Overall, the illegal factories receive only a

tiny percentage of the value of their products, which translates into an even tinier wage

for the workers.

Buenos Aires is home to a world-class fashion industry which brings in $700

million a year in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area alone. (Arrieta, 2008) The city was

chosen by UNESCO in 2005 as the first “World City of Design.” Yet over 50% of the

garments, including top labels such as Lacar, Montaigne, and Olga Naomi, are made in

illegal sweatshops. (Alvarado, 2008, Valente, 2006) Major media attention was focused

on the sweatshop issue in 2006 when one caught fire and six Bolivians who were locked

inside died, including four children. (Valente, 2006)

Fig.7 Bolivian Migrants Protest in Floresta

Following Sweatshop Fire
After a sweatshop fire killed six Bolivians in
2006, including four children, some 5000
Bolivian migrants staged a protest which
brought the district of Floresta to a standstill.
The sign reads “Factory owners, the party is
over.”
Source: www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=8664

16
 A small group of Bolivians who escaped slave labor conditions formed La

Alameda cooperative, which gave authorities much of the information that has led to a

major crackdown on sweatshops since 2006. (Valente, 2006) Moreover, the fire incident

pushed President Nestor Kirchner to initiate the Patria Grande or “Greater Fatherland”

program.7 It gives two-year residence to any foreigner residing in Argentina as long as

they can prove they have no criminal record and are members of countries affiliated with

the Mercosur trading bloc.8 After three years, they can apply for permanent residency.

Bolivia is an associate member of Mercosur, and thus huge waves of previously-

undocumented Bolivians were among the 200,000 who applied for Argentine residency

cards in the first five months of the program. Those who were once undocumented now

carry residency cards which entitle them and their children to the same social services

that Argentines enjoy, including access to public health care and education. Moreover,

Bolivians no longer need to live a furtive existence or worry about being outed or

deported.

Source: http://www.theargentimes.com/feature/a- Source:

Source: http://www.theargentimes.com/feature/a-
http://nacla.org/node/4589 city-with-a-hidden-textile-industry-/
city-with-a-hidden-textile-industry-/
Fig.8 La Alameda workers cooperative in Buenos Aires
A few workers who escaped the sweatshops of Buenos Aires formed La Alameda, a cooperative which
provides textile employment (left) under humane conditions as well as a soup kitchen (center) that feeds
120 daily. The small textile factory produces its own brand of t-shirts, Mundo Alameda (right), in addition
to commissions from several local designers. (Holloway, 2009)

7
In Kirchner’s first three years in office, about 400,000 foreigners received residence visas, more than
double the number in the previous decade. (Byrnes, 2006)
8
Mercosur is a regional trade agreement founded in 1991 whose official members are Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay, and Paraguay. Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru are associate members.

17
 Kirchner’s progressive, liberal immigration policy has been described as a

humane and a model for other countries. (Byrnes, 2006) However, critics have warned

that it could encourage a flood of immigrants, which could force Argentina to monitor its

borders. (Chabner, 2006) Others argue that it could even increase exploitation by forcing

sweatshops to go further underground. (Chabner, 2006) Still others point out that while

Argentina has granted amnesty to its booming immigrant populations on five occasions

from 1958 to 1992, this time is different in that a) the country is undergoing economic

difficulties and b) the new wave of non-white-European immigrants threatens to Latin-

Americanize a nation that has striven to remain European. But the most palpable criticism

comes from Argentines who resent the fact that newcomers are given free services,

especially in difficult economic times. Said one woman in a hospital in La Plata: “I am

being treated for cancer in there and I was surrounded by Peruvians and Paraguayans.

They get everything for free. This is not a rich country. I don’t think it’s fair.” (Bo, 2006)

To be sure, the Patria Grande program has thus far helped protect thousands of Bolivians

from abuse and allowed them to achieve a newfound measure of security in Argentina,

but only time will tell whether the liberal reforms will prove sustainable in the long run.

Despite the Patria Grande reforms, many Bolivians continue to live in very poor

neighborhoods in Argentina, in houses made of wood and tin. (Bo, 2006) Many work in

difficult jobs like construction, garbage collection, and domestic work, and some still

work in sweatshops. But small, though increasing, numbers of Bolivians have been able

to establish their own shops and factories, and to raise a family in Argentina. All these

Bolivians feel a new hope with immigration reform, envisioning their children receiving

18
first-rate education and health care and living out in the open. In fact, according to one

immigrant advocate Bolivians “feel more protected by the city government of Buenos

Aires than by their own consulate,” which has been accused of corruption in recent years.

(Valente, 2006)

Bolivianidad Abroad

In addition to Argentina, Bolivians have established particularly large numbers in

the United States and Spain. Arlington, VA is home to 150,000 Bolivians, over half the

Bolivians in the U.S, which equates to the 8th largest city in Bolivia.9 There are high-rises

in Arlington in which whole Bolivian towns now reside. (Whitesell, 2009) So many

emigrants from the city of Cochabamba now live in Arlington that they refer to it as

“Arlibamba.” Many of the current residents were either part of large waves who crossed

the Mexican-border starting in the 1980s or were subsequently given visas and reunited

with their familes already in the U.S. via chain migration. (Whitesell, 2009) Bolivians in

Arlington have been recognized by the city government, which has declared Bolivian

National Day (Fig. 9) each year around the August 3 anniversary of Bolivian

Independence, and by the city police chief, who gave the Bolivian community an award

for its law-abiding citizenship. (Whitesell, 2009) Among the Bolivians who have

achieved careers success in Arlington is Emma Violand Sanchez, a long-time educator,

leader, and innovator who now serves on the Arlington School Board (Fig. 10).

9
This figure does not include Bolivians living in other regions within the DC Metro area, such as Fairfax or
Montgomery Counties.

19
Fig. 9 Alma Boliviana in Arlington Neighborhood Day parade, May 10, 2008
Arlington is the heart of the Bolivian community in the United States. Alma Boliviana, the folk dance group
which organized the parade dances shown above, is one of wide variety of Bolivian-led organizations in
the Arlington area.

Fig. 10 Emma Violand Sanchez

Violand Sanchez (far right) originally
emigrated from Bolivia in the 1960s, worked
as a nanny, and got her BA and MA in
education and counseling, She then returned
to Bolivia for eight years, but migrated once
again to Arlington and to become an
educator, ESOL director, and now a
member of the school board. In addition, she
has founded Escuela Bolivia and Project
Family in Arlington which provide
alternative education opportunities for
adults and children.

http://www.emmaforschoolboard.org/node/21

In Arlington, as in Barcelona, Buenos Aires, and other destinations around the

world, Bolivians have formed Little Bolivias with Bolivian restaurants selling saltenas,

grocery stores carrying traditional Bolivian ingredients, radio stations, newspapers, and

television programs broadcasting news from home. (Whitesell, 2009) Soccer leagues and

teams carry the names of Bolivian cities and towns. (Whitesell, 2009)10
10
The Bolivian Soccer League in the DC area, for example, took in gross revenue of $28,588 with a profit
of $6795 in 1998, and is part of a Latino DC soccer scene that accounts for over $1.4 million a year and is
sponsored by Budweiser, Taca Airlines, and Radio America. (Escobar, 1998) In some cases the registration
fees for the leagues are sent back to players’ home towns to be invested in roads, schools, etc. (Whitesell,
2009)

20
Concluding Observations: The Future of Bolivian Migration

Times are changing in Bolivia. Recently, President Morales announced the

“beginning of communitarian socialism” and enacted a new constitution to “refound

Bolivia,” aimed at empowering the indigenous majority. Along with the nationalization

and seizure of major natural resources, these developments give Bolivia’s indigenous

majority new reasons to believe that perhaps a brighter future is possible not only abroad,

but at home. In addition, new rights and benefits for Bolivians in Argentina could mean

an increase in already-high remittances that continue to contribute to the country’s

internal development. At the same time, the country is faced with a major regional

conflict between Santa Cruz and the Andean indigenous majority over ownership and

control of resources. How these issues will play out is a story that will continue to unfold

as Bolivia and Bolivians navigate a path that reconciles their traditional culture and

community solidarity with the demands of globalization and modernity that have pulled

them to migrate across the globe.

Refounding Bolivia: A New Constitution

In February 2009, miners wait for
President Morales at the ceremony where
he signed a new Constitution to “refound
Bolivia” and empower the indigenous
majority.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au/world/morales-delivers-on-
his-promise-to-refound-bolivia-20090208-80y5.html

21
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