Intraregional Migration in Latin America: Psychological Perspectives on Acculturation and Intergroup Relations

This book addresses the psychosocial causes, consequences, and underpinnings of intra-regional migration in Latin America.

War, political instability, and disparities in wealth and opportunity have long driven migration within Latin America, and this process shows no sign of slowing. In this book, cross-cultural and social psychologists address the urgent issues that face migrants throughout Central and South America. This includes overt prejudice and discrimination, particularly toward immigrants of indigenous or African-American origin; micro-aggressions; the tendency to positively value fair skin and European surnames; as well as political questions regarding the nature of citizenship and nationhood and links between legacies of colonialism and slavery and present-day inequality.

Contributors offer conceptual, theoretical, and methodological tools for understanding the psychological processes that underlie migration and intergroup contact. Chapters focus on migration between and within countries in Central and South America, including Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, and Brazil.