In Argentina, the endless economic crisis is pushing thousands of residents to go abroad. While the country has long attracted immigrants from Europe as much as from other Latin American countries – most recently Venezuelans fleeing hyperinflation and political unrest – the trend has now completely reversed, underlines the Financial Times.
Spain welcomed 33,600 Argentine nationals in 2021. This is already three times more than six years ago, while this figure is likely to be an underestimate, with many Argentines holding a Spanish passport by parentage. For everyone, Barcelona has become “BA on tne Med”. Among the other favorite destinations for emigrants, Italy, Uruguay and even Chile – where 10,000 Argentines have acquired resident status since 2017.
“Five years ago, none of my acquaintances lived abroad”, explains Belén Ferrari, 30. Today, fifteen of his friends have left Buenos Aires and crossed the Atlantic to settle in Europe. Since last year, the young journalist himself lives in Madrid. “In Buenos Aires, I made a very poor living and inflation [qui risque d’atteindre 100 % cette année, précise le Financial Times] made the situation worse.”
Many qualified professionals among expatriates
The only official figures available for the moment on this wave of emigration show that at least 50,000 Argentine nationals went abroad between September 2020 and October 2021, an average of 3,500 departures per month.
“It’s historic: people are leaving like never before. And it does not stop”, confirms Mercedes Caamaño, at the head of the agency Cruzar El Charco (“crossing the ocean”) in Madrid, which offers candidates for expatriation to assist them in their procedures. Having settled in Spain herself since 2016, she has seen requests from Argentina increase by 40%. Among its customers, many highly qualified professionals.
“Confidence in the Argentine economy has disappeared”, diagnose it Financial Times. And the lack of political consensus has dashed any hopes of the government’s ability to carry out reforms to bring down inflation.
“When you live in Argentina, you constantly run into obstacles. Impossible to travel: you cannot afford it. And to keep up with inflation, you have to continually renegotiate your salary, it’s exhausting,” explains Azul Agulla, 29, who has been living in London for a year, where a large Argentine community has also formed. The young woman has no intention of returning to her country anytime soon.