Economic Crisis and Migrants’ In-Between: Trajectories of Legal Status, Work and (In)Formality from Colombian- and Ecuador-Born Migrants in Spain

Abstract

This chapter investigates incorporation strategies on the part of Colombian and Ecuadorian migrant workers in Spain in the post-crisis period (2008–present). Spain is the second largest destination for Latin American migrants after the United States. Based on semi-structured interviews with migrants and experts as well as statistical models, it studies the connections among the dimensions of labor market access, (in)formality and legal status by exploring how these structures influenced the work and status trajectories of Latin American migrants in Spain. The findings question the conventional expectations that legal status is a key factor for migrants to make a living. Migrants, it is posited, act between spaces of (il)legality and (in)formality to secure their legal status through job contracts. Circular labor engagement and multiple job or site engagements are effective ways for migrants to confront the economic crisis and use their agency to shape in-between spaces and sustain their livelihood in Spain.