Diversity management in Spain

New dimensions, new challenges

Ricard Zapata-Barrero

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN:
  9780719088544
• eBook ISBN:
  9781526102812
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Medieval & Early Modern Literary Criticism
• Index: Politics & International Relations

In the current European dilemma as to whether to increase diversity policies or move towards an assimilationist policy, it is difficult to know what the Spanish approach is. This book argues that Spain represents a context of "multiple diversity", where two frameworks interact: an old, unresolved one, arising from democratic transition, and a new one due to immigration. This explains the Spanish practical approach, where the recent past plays the role of an iron cage, limiting institutional innovation and change. The author proposes a heuristic model, to better understand the "Spanish laboratory of diversities". In order to go through these steps, the author analyses three case studies, coming from the political/social agenda: education, workplace, and political rights. At the end, the reader will have an empirically informed and theoretically founded overview on how Spain is managing diversity. This book is timely for a wide range of academic and professional readers.

1

The governance of immigration in Spain: an overview of main topics

The political parties started to include immigration in their electoral campaigns in 2000 (Zapata-Barrero, 2003a, b) and immigration became institutionalized after several legislative changes. The year 2000 also saw the first debates on social integration among immigrants, after riots against Moroccan immigrant workers took place in El Ejido, a centre of fruit and vegetable production in south-eastern Spain (Zapata-Barrero, 2003a). Other incidents of social unrest (including immigrant strikes to obtain papers and civil, cultural, social and economic rights), racism and ethnic prejudice also triggered public and political debate on the social integration of immigrants. Although immigration in Spain began to increase during the 1990s, it was only after 2000 that it began to assume major proportions. This unprecedented growth in immigration was once again related to economic and welfare benefits in Spain and, in particular, to an exacerbation of the imbalance between the supply of and demand for labour. Between 2001 and 2005, the growth of the Spanish economy led to an increase of 690,000 new jobs per year (in comparison with a total of 670,000 between 1995 and 2001), while its capacity to meet this demand fell compared the previous period because of the drop in unemployment (7.1 per cent in 2005), an increase in the employment rate (with a female employment rate of 58.1 per cent in 2005) and the demographic shock resulting from the decline in the birth rate after 1976 (Oliver Alonso, 2005: 32).

In the aftermath of 11 September 2001, immigration became increasingly linked to security, leading to tighter border controls, action against irregular immigration flows and restrictions in immigration laws. The fluctuations in Spanish immigration law over the last six years show that a political discourse on immigration is still under construction (Zapata-Barrero, 2009a). In overall terms, the development of immigration policy has to a large extent been mainly a matter of controlling immigration flows (prevention), with a lack of effective policies for the social integration of immigrants. The pressure of undocumented immigration on the outer borders of Europe has dominated the social and political debate. There is an increasing awareness that these irregular immigration flows are not merely a Spanish but also a European problem, and Spain is urging the EU to take responsibility for its borders (Zapata-Barrero and Witte, 2007).

In spite of this ‘border control’ crisis, there are also conflicts of immigration-related diversity. Spain has a diverse immigrant population, with the largest groups coming from Latin American countries (29.24 per cent), African countries (15.97 per cent), the EU (41.67 per cent) and non-EU European countries (3.83 per cent). Conflicts of migration-related diversity have mainly been caused by the cultural and religious demands of those immigrants that are most ‘visible’ within Spanish society: Muslims. Indeed, in spite of not being institutionalized as such, there is an informal acceptance by the public authorities and society in general that there are two categories of immigrants, ‘visible’ and ‘invisible’, with the former related to potential conflict. The three dimensions by which visibility becomes explicit are skin colour, language and religion. It is within this socially constructed group of immigrants that various diversities – religion, language and skin colour – are simultaneously embodied. Estimates suggest that there are up to 1 million Muslims in Spain.¹ The majority come from Morocco, one of the largest immigrant groups, accounting for 1.58 per cent of the total population and 13.6 per cent of the immigrant population.²

The change in government in March 2004 had an impact on the focus of policy. Before 2004, when the right-wing Partido Popular (PP) was in government, the immigration policy focused on security, and attempted to control migration flows by tightening the Aliens Law, with policies that concentrated on restrictions and on ‘building barriers’. This restrictive immigration policy boosted the black economy and had negative results in terms of irregular immigration. However, there have been some changes since the election of the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (PSOE; Socialist Party), the most important being that the focus has shifted from security towards a policy that links immigration to the labour market. That means that the policies are now directed at the ability of the Spanish labour market to absorb immigration. This is what led to the most recent regularization process in 2005, called the ‘normalization process’, which aimed to ‘normalize’ the life of irregular immigrants already working in Spain’s informal economy.

Moreover, even though the number of immigrants has increased in the last ten years, immigration is still mainly perceived in terms of economic need and the politicians’ priority is border control. To a certain extent, this explains why the immigrant is currently considered in Spain as homo economicus, a conceptualization that makes it difficult to engage in a more in-depth debate or profound vision, in which immigrants are not only integrated in the labour market but also in other areas, such as society and politics.

Immigration policy in Spain has therefore undergone many different structural and legal changes since 1985, with the strategy of immigration management defined on a step-by-step basis, as a reaction to the practical questions that emerged. However, as we will conclude in this book, this strategy is still under construction. Some of the features of the institutional structure, like the Spanish Constitution, discriminate against immigrants in different ways. These elements hinder the management of the new challenges posed by the new context and dynamics, such as the arrival and permanence of immigrants, proving the need to redefine the cornerstones of a new social and political contract (Zapata-Barrero, 2010a).

As we shall examine how this practical philosophy works in three key areas (education, the workplace and political rights), we must first begin by briefly considering seven areas framing and justifying empirically the context of the theoretical framework of multiple diversities, namely: (a) the distribution of powers within the decentralized structure of the Spanish State; (b) welfare policies; (c) immigrant associations; (d) citizenship policy focus; (e) Muslim immigrant communities; (f) gender policies related to immigration; and (g) identity. This overview of what we call ‘the governance of immigration in Spain’ will allow us to introduce this practical approach before going into the broad examination of the three key areas of Spanish policy: education, workplace and political rights.

The distribution of powers within the decentralized structure of the Spanish State

The subject of the distribution of powers is a very deep-rooted issue in Spain, and is always present in political and social debates. It is linked to the way the process of political and administrative decentralization was agreed upon during the transition to democracy, with no time limit and with no minimum and maximum powers established for any of the parties involved. It has therefore been an ongoing process since the Constitution of 1978.

The subject of immigration falls within this framework, as an area that has not been defined in terms of powers, and which therefore has also not been defined in terms of the administrative distribution of tasks and functions (the ‘who does what’ in terms of immigration involving different government bodies). It is a fact that powers in immigration were not discussed during the transition to democracy, and are not included in the Spanish Constitution of 1978. This lack of an administrative reference on how powers on immigration are distributed in administrative and territorial terms is no hindrance to the orientation of practices that are increasingly well defined and recognized. It is in this area that the argument that Spain is pursuing a practical philosophy is most apparent.

Indeed, government action and institutional practice itself means that while the management of borders, and everything related to flows, is the exclusive responsibility of the central Government, issues related to integration have fallen to the autonomous communities’ governments, and especially to local governments, which are responsible for practically all reception and integration issues. In this respect, the Government has sought to support initiatives for the integration of immigrants by distributing the budget for the integration and reception of immigrants between town councils and autonomous regional governments. This financial distribution has been undertaken through the bodies managing immigration policies in each autonomous region, with accredited demographic and objective criteria. The Government has in turn started to divert responsibilities for the internal management of immigration towards the autonomous communities, as required and recognized in the Statutes of these communities. For example, the responsibility for reception and integration of immigrants is recognized in Catalonia, as is management of work permits.³

The biggest problem is that the present distribution of powers prevents the autonomous communities from developing comprehensive public policies on immigration, although conflicting powers in this area have to date been limited (Miret, 2009).

The current regime of autonomous communities, which enables towns to register their inhabitants without taking into account the criteria of the State, is also an unusual feature of Spain. This enables immigrants in an irregular situation to register. Once again, this practical philosophy is apparent. Considering strategic objectives – basically cohesion and stability – the preference is to make the problem visible (by registering individuals in an irregular situation) instead of keeping it invisible and unprotected from a legal point of view. In these circumstances, the practical philosophy of the State is also interesting, as it is aware of the situation but does not seek conflict with the councils. There is a tacit understanding and indirect consent for the councils’ action. This practical philosophy ensures the governability of immigration in Spain.

This situation leads to a number of challenges for the improvement of governability, such as establishing well-known mechanisms for coordination right from the beginning between the State, autonomous communities and local government bodies in terms of public policies on immigration, and between the autonomous communities. Considering the division of powers that is being established in practice, the participation of the autonomous communities and local government should be increased by establishing State policies for immigration, including controlling flows and setting quotas. However, there is also a lack of a more explicit recognition of what is a fact on the ground: leadership in the management of migratory policies falls to town councils. In short, the most appropriate measure would be a National Agreement on Aliens and Immigration, in which – as well as many other issues – areas of competence would be precisely defined, the mechanisms for coordination between various Government bodies would be specified, and the financing mechanisms determined for facing the challenge that immigration presents to Spanish society today. This Agreement must be based on political consensus, institutional coordination and social harmony. This point should perhaps also include the creation of an Immigration Agency, the main role of which would be to ensure compliance and guarantee the implementation of the contents of the Agreement.

Welfare policies

The Spanish welfare state is very young compared with those in other European countries. Historically, it has two important distinguishing features. First, it was set up after the crisis of the welfare states during the 1970s, without the presence of immigrants, unlike France and Germany, where immigrants contributed to the rebuilding of society after the Second World War. This may help in explaining some of its weaknesses. In addition, there is another issue that is already intrinsic to the other European welfare states, which is how welfare, identity, diversity and opportunity have become gradually linked. This link is central to understanding the logic behind Spanish governance. The biggest problem is the social exclusion of immigrants and second-generation immigrants who will join the labour market over the next decade. Yet again, the debate on this issue will contribute to constituting the practical philosophy that guides policy for governing diversity in the area of welfare.

According to F. J. Moreno (2009), the arrival of immigrants allows us to identify the weaknesses of our welfare system in order to guarantee its future sustainability. In Spain, there is a very specific link between welfare and integration (see also Moreno and Bruquetas, 2011). In this framework, there are two basic instruments. First, there are social security programmes providing protection against risks such as invalidity, unemployment or retirement, for immigrants who have worked in the formal economy. Secondly, there are universal programmes of education and health and, to some extent, the social services provide a basic safety net that ensures a range of elementary social rights and acts as a redistribution mechanism, which in turn guarantees life opportunities and the development of immigrants’ potential. It is also worth mentioning the transformation that the traditional Spanish family has undergone due to changes in society, such as the increasing participation of women in the workforce, the changes in family structures (relationship between children and parents, more single parents emancipation of children etc), and the reduction in the expectations of intergenerational care, and so on. These changes represent opportunities for the development of niches in the labour market in the area of social mobility for immigrant workers (Moreno, 2009).

In this framework, Spain should pave the way in the issue of social mobility. From this perspective, an important part of the effort made to design viable models of incorporation will come from the need to ensure the possibility of vertical social mobility for the descendants of immigrants, as well as the application of effective anti-discrimination policies, so that equal opportunities are guaranteed (Moreno, 2009). Welfare should therefore be linked to the promotion of equal treatment and non-discrimination of people due to racial or ethnic origin, in a way that no other European country has been so willing to stress. The achievement of these objectives will be of great importance in paving the way for the children of the first immigrants, who have grown up, been educated and studied in a bicultural context in Spanish society, and the problems they will encounter.

The practical philosophy that guides policy for the governance of diversity in Spain develops tools for anticipating events such as those that occurred in November 2005 in France, where citizens of immigrant origin rebelled against the State that excludes them, despite having been educated in the republican values of equal opportunities. The French experience is a clear warning to the weak Spanish welfare state. These ‘Spanish of immigrant origin’ will have the same personal and employment expectations as their native counterparts, and will not be as willing to accept the jobs or the working conditions their parents once did – jobs that once represented a significant qualitative improvement compared with the countries of origin.

Likewise, the fight against the social exclusion of immigrants, with fewer resources for combating social inequalities, is related to the precarious immigrant labour market. The social protection policies field is therefore most in need of development (Moreno, 2009). The lines of action for diversity originating from immigration should be adjusted in two basic ways: guaranteeing equality (access to benefits and services) and advancing towards equity (the achievement of equal results even if this means differential treatment). One of the practical dimensions embodying this debate is deciding how to respond to the specific demands of ethnic diversity: through general services or by establishing a specialized parallel system. The debate on the advantages and disadvantages of both models is ongoing, although the Spanish practical philosophy tends to advocate a logic which generalizes and standardizes.

Immigrant associations

Immigrant associations are one of the most deep-rooted indicators in our recent democratic history. In Spa...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of boxes, figures and tables
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• Introduction: multiple diversity in Spain
• 1 The governance of immigration in Spain: an overview of main topics
• 2 Policy discourses in Spain in a growing multiple diversity process
• 3 Multiple diversity in a decentralized education system
• 4 Multiple diversity in the labour market and in the workplace: combating discrimination against immigrant workers
• 5 Multiple diversity in the political arena: the limits of political rights of immigrants
• 6 Concluding remarks: heuristic of the Spanish philosophy of diversity management
• References
• Index