Galician immigrant associations: Claims from a position of insecurity

Since the beginning of the 21st century with the arrival of external immigrants who were motivated by economic factors and lacked ties to prior Galician emigration, Galicia has witnessed the consolidation of migrant communities. The formation of ethnic associations is one of the indicators of foreign community settlement and integration in the receiving society. The research project on which this article is based focused on the associations formed by non-Spanish speaking external immigrants in Galicia in order to analyze their claims and strategies related to processes of integration. The realities faced by these Galician immigrant associations have been shaped by economic instability. The economic crisis has directly affected the lives of group leaders and members, and the organizations themselves have suffered as a result of austerity measures that have reduced social spending. In this article we apply Schrover and Vermeulen’s (2005) classification of ethnic association approaches as either defensive (responding to social exclusion) or offensive (emphasizing differences with respect to the receiving society), and extend this scheme to include a third type: organizations which make claims for interculturality (stronger interactions and exchanges with the host society).