Paraguayans in the forest sector of the Argentine economy

Abstract

This paper analyses the participation of Paraguayan migrant men in the forestry labor market of the Paraná River Delta. Although forestry is not the principal activity in which these migrants work in Argentina, this case is relevant to show the way in which discrimination mechanisms based on ethno-national stereotypes make cheap foreign labor available. At first, based on the last Argentine Population Census, we show that Paraguayans are the most important migrant group in Argentina. Second, we describe the socio-demographic features of the Paraguayan population in the Paraná River Delta, and compare them with the trends in other places of destination in Argentina. Finally, based on our ethnographic research developed in the Delta, we analyze the labor hierarchies of forestry production; local discrimination discourses against Paraguayans; migratory networks that make these laborers available; and their working and living conditions. We argue that the expansion and profitability of forestry production in the Paraná River Delta is enabled by this segmented labor market that assigns migrant young men to the lowest positions of the labor hierarchy.