During my first trip to Lima, Peru I noticed the Via Expresa lined with billboards advertising government propaganda.
Photo: Agrobanco/Andina
Generally “government” + “propaganda” = “brainwashing”, but in this case it was the Peruvian government (then under the direction of President Alejandro Toledo) encouraging Peruvians not to expatriate for supposedly greener grasses.
From 2005-2006 leading up to the Presidential Elections Peruvian tabloid papers, commonly referred to as “chichas“, were splashed with outlandish headlines such as “Thousands of jobs in Spain for Peruvians!“
The chichas would sell out and the Spanish embassy in Lima would be swarmed with Peruvian citizens desperately trying to obtain those Spanish work visas.
My father-in-law was one of the millions to believe that the Old World was the land of new opportunity. Every Peruvian knows another Peruvian who was an uneducated “cholo” from the mountains that now lives in Europe with his 5 cars, mansion and the two restaurants he owns. — A story as false as the headlines splashed across the chichas.
Spain and Japan are two countries who’s thriving economies have gone bust due to the global recession. In 2008 Spain passed a decree to pay unemployed immigrants to return to their countries and in 2009 Japan followed a similar measure promising to pay for an immigrant’s one-way ticket back home. Both countries account for a large population of Peruvian expats.
Now the INEI (National Institute for Statistics and Information) has released a report that fewer Peruvians are emigrating.
A combination of stricter immigration policies, fewer jobs abroad, and a healthy Peruvian economy have encouraged Peruvians to look for opportunities within their own borders.
This past year Peru experienced a drop of 6.3% in emigration, while 0.7% more foreigners have moved to Peru.
In less than 4 years the tables have turned. Peruvians are returning home and staying home while citizens from the once thriving countries that Peruvians expatriated to are heading for a greener economy and immigrating to Peru themselves.
Photo: ANDINA / Fernando Zora-Carvajal.
Filed under: Economy | Tagged: Economy, Peru, USA, Peruvian immigration, Italy, Mexico, FTA, brazil, britain, japan, spain, peruvian economy, free trade agreements, emigration, immigration, canada, immigrants going home, immigration measures, strict immigration policies, us/mexico fence
I shake my head when I hear these stories of some friend-of-a-friend who emigrated to Spain and everything’s wonderful.
I’m all for traveling and getting to know other cultures, but you have to make your own luck, no matter where you are. I hate when people leave the country as an easy escape, because Peru has plenty of opportunities, and the grass may not be so green on the other side.
The lesson I’ve learned from traveling and living abroad is that the grass comes greener in patches and not pastures.