Posted on Tuesday 19th October 2010
Drawing from recent fieldwork findings of the METOIKOS research project, Prof. Carmen González Enríquez (Real Instituto Elcano, Madrid) presented an overview of the features of Moroccan migrants in Spain and the chances of circular migration for this migrant group in the context of a Seminar on “Morocco-Spain relations” organized by the Moroccan Royal Institute for Strategic Researches, in Rabat on the 21st of September 2010.
In particular, the preliminary findings of the fieldwork indicated that circular migration between both countries is by now restricted to temporary agricultural work. The amount of this circular migration has suffered the effects of the economic crisis and the return of unemployed Spaniards to the agriculture. As regards the immigration as a tool in the international relations between Morocco and Spain, the research shows that the low level of qualification of most Moroccan immigrants in Spain (much lower than the average among Moroccan migrants in Europe) does not contribute to the improvement of the image of Morocco among Spaniards. Something similar can be said as regards the low level of economic activity of Moroccan female immigrants in Spain and their frequent social isolation.