Paper Short Abstract:

Since 2017 over 100,000 Haitians migrated to Chile drawn by promises of work and lax migratory policies. This project studies precarious labor in the grape-export industry in the Aconcagua Valley, examining the labor intersections of Afro-Caribbean migration and indigenous Mapuche labor force.

Paper Abstract:

Over the past seven years, more than 100,000 Haitian nationals—alongside Venezuelan and Colombian nationals—migrated to Chile attracted by promises of work and lax migratory policies in the country. After arriving to the capital Santiago, many turned to nearby regions such as the Aconcagua Valley finding seasonal employment in the grape-export sector. Characterized by long hours and hazardous working conditions, seasonal fruit labor relies on low-income employees, indigenous workforce, and more recently, immigrant labor. Based on a longitudinal ethnographic project, this work examines the intersections of Afro-Caribbean migratory workforce and the indigenous Mapuche workforce as they make a living and create endurance throughout seasonal employment.

This paper explores a paradox of a country that has built its national identity as one without racial differences, while invisibilizing a history of racialized employment and selective migration. Although Chile’s fruit-export industry has been internationally heralded for its “successful” growth, the experiences of laborers during the harvest season and off-season reveal the cracks of a starkly fragmented society. Placed in context of the recent 2019 Social Explosion, demographic changes, and rising xenophobia, this project examines how seasonal laborers navigate shifting economic and social terrain, engendering betterment of everyday life.