Paper short abstract:

The paper analyzes the term solidarity within Chilean civil society delving into the role the term plays in the process and meaning of political participation among migrant organizations. I argue their actions of taking care of each other is a central part of their citizenship narrative.

Paper long abstract:

Until recently, Chile was not considered a country of immigration, increase and diversification of immigration has changed this scenario. In parallel to the upsurge of nationalist narratives and racist attitudes among the local population, there is also an increase of migrant and pro-migrants organizations that are based on mutual aid and collective action principles. The proposed paper is based on ethnographic work with migrants organizations in Chile, paying special attention to what their participation means to them. I argue that through their political involvement they challenge and re-conceptualize the notion of citizenship within the overall Chilean democratization process.

Migrant organizations in Chile are diverse and have drawn different purposes for themselves. Among them I found a strong regard for mutual aid, where political participation takes the form of caring for one another as a moral imperative. By analyzing the genealogy of the term solidarity in civil society in Chile, in this paper I aim to better understand the rejection of my participants to use the term solidarity to refer to their work. In short; they consider solidarity makes their actions look as if they were made among strangers.

The relevance of exposing and fostering their way of being together, along with performing their solidarity repertoires (trying to distance themselves from the stereotypes and stigmatization the host society has imprinted on them as migrants) is a central part of what I see in their citizenship narratives.