Spain welcomes immigrants? ¿Inmigrantes están bienvenidos?

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Art
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Spain welcomes immigrants? ¿Inmigrantes están bienvenidos?

Post by Art »

Carol Matlack, in an article in Business Week, May 21, 2007, pgs 50-51, claims that "Spain's open-border policy is driving an economic and social revival."
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/co ... 035066.htm

Is this what our Asturian friends believe, too?

Given that we're a website concerned with emigration, it's odd how little we've discussed contemporary issues in immigration. This is clearly a very emotional topic here in the US.

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Carol Matlack, en un artículo en Business Week (semana en negocio), el 21 de mayo de 2007, páginas 50 y 51, afirmó que "la política de abrir las fronteras de España está haciendo un renacimiento económico y social."
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/co ... 035066.htm

¿Crean así nuestros amigos asturianos, también?

Dado que somos una página que trata de la emigración, me extraña que hemos discutido pocas veces temas contemporáneos en la inmigración. Es claramente un asunto muy emocional aquí en los EE.UU.
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Terechu
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Post by Terechu »

My goodness! Whatever does she mean by open border policy? It's the EU, there are no borders between member states.
Our only open borders are to France and Portugal, whoever makes it to those countries can step right in. The trouble is that France has an open border to Germany, who has an open border to Austria, who has an open border to Hungary, who has an open border to Rumania, which has an open border to Bulgaria...

If you want to come in from overseas (especially South America and Africa) you need an entry visa. Two to six months of paper work and expenses, depending on the country, just for a 3-month tourist visa, which is the most you get if you don't have Spanish parents, grandparents or spouses. After that you either go home or become "illegal". Needless to say that most stay anyway, illegal or not.

Then there are the Africans whose only choice are the mafias who smuggle them in on rickety boats. Most are spotted and turned back, some manage to land in the Canary Islands and are sent back promptly, so they can try again next week...smuggling people is big business, you make huge benefits and the jail terms are lower than for drug trafficking.

The Zapatero government recently legalized about half a million, so they could pay their taxes and social security, and yes, Spanish economy is thriving, but it's probably got more to do with money laundering for the mafias than with the influx of inmigrants.
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Art
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Post by Art »

Terechu wrote:...yes, Spanish economy is thriving, but it's probably got more to do with money laundering for the mafias than with the influx of inmigrants.
That's interesting. Can you explain the money laundering? Is this the Italian mafia or something else, maybe racketeers in general? I think I recall someone (you?) saying they were investing in real estate in Spain.

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Terechu wrote:[trans. Art] ...claro, la economia española prospera, pero probablemente está relacionado más con el blanquear de dinero para los mafiosos que con la afluencia de inmigrantes.
Um, interesante. ¿Puedes explicar esa blanquear de dinero? ¿Se trata del mafioso italiano or otra cosa? Creo que recuerdo alguien (¿tú?) diciendo que inverten en propiedad inmobiliaria española.
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Post by Vitor »

La mayoría de las mafiaseuropeas (italiana, albanesa, rusa...) se han instalado en la Costa del Sol, donde es fácil blanquear dinero con negocios inmobiliarios...

Los africanos que llegan a Canarias o Andalucía sólo huyen del hambre y la guerra... muchas veces para acabar muertos en las playas españolas :(
No creo que supongan ninguna reactivación de la economía.

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trans. Art

The majority of the European mafias (Italian, Albanian, Russian, etc.) have settled in the Costa del Sol where it's easy to launder money with real estate deals.

The Africans that arrive in Canerias or Andalucia are only trying to escape hunger and war. Many times they arrive dead on the Spanish beaches. :( I don't believe these things indicate any economic revival whatsoever.
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Post by Art »

Gracias, Vitor. Tienes sentido.

Thanks, Victor, that makes sense.
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