The moral economy of citizenship: Migrants’ aspirations for belonging in downtown Santiago,Chile

Abstract

Migration rates have dramatically increased in Chile over the past decade, which has led to a process of diversification in different neighborhoods of Santiago. Migrants are often subjected to practices of residential discrimination, forcing them to access housing in precarious, inner-city tenements in areas with rising rates of crime and violence. Drawing on participant observation conducted in Barrio Yungay in Santiago and 24 semi-structured interviews (with both migrants ‘specialized informants’), this article argues that migrants deal with housing crisis and increasing urban insecurity by conducting reflective, ethical practices on themselves. In doing so, they strive to constitute themselves as citizens endowed with certain ethical attributes, establishing moral boundaries with those that who either commit incivilities or impose abusive (housing) relations with fellow migrants. As a result, migrants outline differences and similarities with others to claim their right to belong and realize forms of cultural citizenship and urban incorporation.