Beyond the Expat Bubble: Migration and Labor Incorporation of Spanish Skilled Immigrants in Mexico

Abstract

This chapter analyzes and compares the labor incorporation of expatriates and other skilled workers in Mexico, using 50 semi-structured interviews with Spanish immigrants working for private companies. By comparing these two groups, the chapter explores four aspects that have been marginal in the literature on expatriates. First, it addresses the role of Mexico as permanent destination for these professionals, in a context of increasing globalization and economic crisis. Second, it traces the role of the Mexican state in migration and the recent changes in its policy, in order to understand current migration flows. Third, the chapter exposes the variety in working and hiring conditions for skilled Spanish immigrants in Mexico, suggesting a more complex view of their labor incorporation. Finally, it tackles labor conflicts between immigrants and nationals, a relatively less frequently explored aspect in the literature. These conflicts could be considered minor, but they are of the utmost importance for some professionals who expressed their intention to go back to Spain because they do not feel integrated in Mexico’s labor culture.