Social Structure and Remittances in Paraguay. A study in sending communities

GÓMEZ, PABLO SEBASTIÁN

Providence

Conferencia; International Advanced Research Institute; 2009

While Argentina was historically the main destination of migration from Paraguay and still is today, there are no studies of the origin of the major migrating communities of Paraguay. Immigration from Paraguay to Argentina is currently the most numerous, with 325,000 immigrants (35% of total) according to the argentine 2001 Census which relieved a total of 923,000 people born in other countries of Latin America residing in Argentina. International migration affects the social structure of the regions of origin in various ways. There is a large volume of literature of studies on the topic yet few stop to analyze the impact of international migration and remittances on the social structure in the south-south migration. Remittances are a point of particular focus and a differential impact on different social sectors and in different regions, urban regions and rural regions, remittances come primarily from Argentina. The study of the flow of remittances, the frequency, amounts and the use of them to perform the various social sectors in urban and rural regions of Paraguay is of interest. It aims to identify and characterize the households receiving remittances to those who do not receive them in terms of social profiles, demographic and economic. Differentiation of the uses that are made of those in homes with male or female economic dependence is expected. The impact of remittances for development is widely controversial and represents a fundamental point in the study of a developing country like Paraguay. How do these flows affect poverty levels in different countries? What is the impact of remittances on the development of sending communities in Paraguay? We are working on a recent survey of international migration from Paraguay to Argentina. The Survey of Emigration of Paraguayans (EEP2008) was carried out in migrant-sending communities in Paraguay. The Paraguayan immigration to Argentina has traditionally been located in border areas, but by the mid-century it became increasingly evident in Greater Buenos Aires. The presence of Paraguayans in northeastern Argentina became evident since the late nineteenth century and early decades of the twentieth century being particularly important for the structuring of the territories and economies of border areas and responding to the demand for labour work of these rural areas. The presence of Paraguayans has always been prominent in the four provinces of northeastern Argentina, adding to the Brazilians in Misiones and Corrientes and Uruguayans in the territories bordering the eastern republic in Corrientes.