Migrar contra el poder. La represión de las migraciones interiores en España durante la posguerra (1939-1957).

Abstract

This doctoral thesis delves into the study of the internal migrations that occurred in Spain during the postwar period. Its chronology covers the period commonly defined by historiography as the “”first Francoism””, between the years 1939 and 1957; a historical period to which, for various reasons, the historiography or the historical demography have not paid due attention with regard to the analysis of the internal migratory process, especially in the 1940s specific aspects._x000D_ _x000D_ Through a detailed political, economic and social contextualization of that period, which emphasizes the precarious scenario prevailing throughout the country, we show how despite this, the migratory movements that developed were really important in their quantitative aspect. On the other hand, and through a qualitative perspective of analysis, we show that the Franco regime interpreted these population movements as a problem of public order, especially in the main cities and industrial centers of the country. In response, the dictatorship developed a series of coercive and punitive mechanisms, which resulted in the impoverishment of immigrants who arrived in the aforementioned contexts and, in thousands of cases, their forced repatriation to their places of origin._x000D_ _x000D_ Through the innovative documentation that this research provides, produced by different administrative levels (state, provincial and municipal) and management areas (Ministries of the Interior and Labor, General Commissariat of Supplies and Transport, Social Assistance, etc.), we will show the implementation of the aforementioned coercive and punitive mechanisms to curtail the migratory dynamics existing since the very end of the Civil War –mechanisms directly stemming from the guidelines established during previous decades. On the other hand, the importance of the Civil War in the internal migratory processes that occurred during the 1940s is also addressed. The first central chapter of the research deals with this last aspect: development of individualized control mechanisms to hinder migration, especially that linked to political dissidence. The second chapter focuses on the measures implemented to hinder official rationing among individuals who decided to undertake emigration. The third chapter unfolds in a similar sense, but this time in relation to labor issues. The fourth chapter deals with aspects related to housing, and will show how thousands of immigrants were forced to improvise emergency housing solutions as a result of the policies imposed by the dictatorship in this regard, especially in relation to housing rental._x000D_ _x000D_ These aspects were the fundamental cause that a majority of migrants were forced to develop settlements marked by marginality. In many cases, this marginality could be circumvented through the possibilities offered by the black economy. However, the reverse of this fact was translated in the forced practice of begging and destitution for as many thousands of immigrants. For this last group, the regime readapted a series of punitive mechanisms that had been developing since the beginning of the 20th century, in order to provide them with the necessary means to be able to expel tens of thousands of immigrants to their places of origin during the 1940s. The last chapter of the dissertation deals with that question; we will show how that policy of massive repatriation of immigrants developed with greater magnitudes than those registered during the 1950s, a period to which the beginnings of the said policy had hitherto been ascribed.

Date of Award	13 Nov 2020
Original language	Spanish
Supervisor	Carme Molinero Ruiz (Director)