Migration and education in the city of Buenos Aires: political, educational and ethnic tensions

Abstract

This article reviews the current state of immigration in the city of Buenos Aires and, in particular, the reactions and tensions that the presence of immigrants from the neighboring countries and Peru generate in the educational system of the city of Buenos Aires. We notice that the needs of foreign students (or children of foreigners) have not been addressed by the educational policies of the city (both at a macro and a micro level) as these are still based on homogenizing and assimilationist views. We then propose that the differences in migration profiles present in Buenos Aires have generated ethnic, political and pedagogical tensions that cannot be neutralized or tamed by the old strategies traditionally used in the construction of the Argentine Nation. This approach presents ethical issues, since the migration and education policies establish that this homogeneity is not desirable. It also presents major practical problems, since it is clear that given the situation of urban and educational segregation experienced by young immigrants, it seems very difficult that patriotic contents and rituals could promote parity of social participation for immigrants.