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  • Title: [Argentine migration policy and movements of the European population (1876-1925)].
    Author: Devoto FJ.
    Journal: Estud Migr Latinoam; 1989 Apr; 4(11):135-58. PubMed ID: 12282850.
    Abstract:
    This work examines changes in Argentine migration policy from 1876-1925 and the relationship between public policy and population movements. Promoting immigration from Europe as proposed in article 25 of the Argentine constitution of 1853 was 1 of the most enduring objectives of Argentina's leadership. When Law of Immigration and Colonization (Law 817) was passed by the Chamber of Senators in 1876, the flow of immigration was at its lowest point in 8 years. Many of the provisions of Law 817 had already been put into practice occasionally or systematically, but the intent to use the law to attract a far greater number of immigrants and to select qualities seen as desirable were novel elements and the principal motives of the legislation. The unstated aim of reducing the preponderance of Italian immigration from about 2/3 was not immediately achieved. Argentina's immigration policy and actions were in competition with those of other Latin American countries and with the US. Information offices for prospective immigrants were opened in the 1880s in Paris, London, Brussels, Berlin, Vienna, Bern, and New York, and in 1887 legislation was passed permitting subsidized passages on a large scale. The continued predominance of Italian immigration demonstrated the limits of government policy influence, even when large sums of money were invested. The informal network of Italian immigrants already in Argentina and the activities of interested shipping companies on the other hand played major roles in maintaining Italian immigration. The total number of immigrants and the diversity of national origins were increased by the subsidized passages, but in 1891 the combination of a financial crisis and an end to subsidized passages decisively reduced the total flow. Changes occurred in the 1890s in regional flows within countries and in the occupational composition of immigrants from agricultors to day laborers, unskilled workers, and artisans. By about 1910 the conservative elements in Argentina's ruling elite began to favor a more restrictive and more controlled immigration with Italians now viewed as desirable because of their affinity for Latin culture and their hard work. The growing influx of Russian Jews and of Syrians and Lebanese raised concerns about their eventual assimilation. After World War I, the trend toward greater restrictiveness was reflected in several legislative initiatives and in administrative changes. The main determinants appear to have been the desire to avoid social conflict and admission of agitators, economic crisis, and the example of other countries with increasingly restrictive immigration policies.
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