Migrants in regionalism

perceptions from Mercosur and the European Union

Abstract

The construction of migration policies has always been a central issue for countries, especially in recent decades with the intensification of integration processes around the world, which began to incorporate the debate on the free movement of people and the harmonization of migration rules between Member States. While the European Union has developed a common policy that covers both the issue of internal movement of people and the rules for the entry of extra-bloc migrants, in the case of Mercosur, the migration policy is exclusively national, with discussions within the bloc regarding common principles. Despite the differences, over the past thirty years there has been a shift in the understanding of migrants within both regional integration processes, characterized by an increasing distrust towards those who come from external regions. The aim of this article is to discuss the process of securitization of the migratory agenda in both regional blocs, analyzing their distinctions and specificities. We do not intend to compare the blocs, but to demonstrate that there is a similar dynamic between them despite their differences. The hypothesis of our analysis is that this change in the perception of migrants is related to a crisis narrative that stimulated the rise of extremist and nationalist movements in the 21st century, concomitant to the increase in migratory flows on both continents. The article relies on a historical approach, based on official documents from the European Union, Mercosur (and its respective member states), and international organizations.