self-building and symbolic boundaries: new citizenships among migrants living in squater settlements in Santiago

Abstract

The increase in migratory flows has significantly transformed Chile’s cities. In this context, the inclusion of migrant people has become a challenge for the state, since these individuals are generally exposed to a series of exclusions. In a society that is rapidly diversifying, the issue of citizenship—that is, the question of who belongs to the political community—has been at the center of public and academic debate. This article draws from an ethnographic study conducted in a squatter in Santiago primarily inhabited by foreigners. The study’s findings show how migrants forge alternative forms of citizenship through their self-built dwellings and the establishment of symbolic boundaries. It is concluded that migrants, in their questioning of the commonly assumed relationship between nationality and citizenship, constitute themselves as subject-citizens through the everyday experience of inhabiting the city.