Temporary “contracts in origin” as policy to control immigration in Spain: the “Huelva model”

Abstract

Until recently, both the Administration and the social agents recognized the inefficiency of the quota system as policy to control migratory flows, both of them agreeing that it was in fact concealed regularization. This situation tried to be settled by the contested Immigration law 4/2000, in which, for the specific case of the seasonal agricultural tasks, the modality of “contracting in origin” was established. The later modifications of the Law and its two “Regulations of development” approved up to the date, have kept this modality as the means for controlling migratory flows. With the introduction of this new system, the province of Huelva has turned into a “model” at a national level, not only for its adoption of this formula, but also for the volume of manpower contracted this way. The present study centres on analyzing the application of the “contracts in origin” in all of Spain, and particularly in the province of Huelva. We study the juridical texts and the main existing statistics in the matter, and complement this information with archive work carried out in the Subdelegation of the National Government in Huelva, which centralizes this kind of contracts. With this material, we propose to explain the reasons that lead to the appeal of foreign manpower, the procedure that is applied, the different regional significance of this contractual modality, as well as the negative effects and possible alternatives to correct them.