in Portugal, migration policy at the center of debates

To cope with the aging of its population, Portugal has widely opened its borders in recent years, but the subject is causing tensions.

Immigration is one of the major subjects of these European elections in France, and is also being debated in Portugal. The country has in fact relaxed its migration policy and the number of migrants welcomed has even doubled in six years.

These migrants mainly come from Nepal, Pakistan or India. This is particularly visible and audible in the town of Odemira in Alentejo, in the south of Portugal: in a bar-restaurant in the town, we hear Hindi and the television broadcasts cricket. “I am very happy here in Portugalsays the boss, named Gourprixin, who came from India with his family in 2020. Most people are friendly. A few are racist, but the majority of people are nice to us.”

Gourprixin integrated quickly and obtained papers, very easily, in a few months. He was able to open his Indian restaurant, one more in this city, where Pakistani grocery stores and Nepalese bars have multiplied in recent years.

After decades of demographic decline, Odemira’s population has increased by 13% in ten years, mainly thanks to foreigners working in the agricultural sector. This is the case of Govin’t, a skilled Nepalese worker, in a company specializing in the cultivation of red fruits. “Before, I lived in London, but the migration policy there is strict, so I had to leave and Portugal opened its doors to me, he explains. Here, with my skills, I can have the opportunity to progress, both within the company and within the country.”

Govin’t was able to benefit from the massive regularization of undocumented immigrants decided six years ago by the socialist government at the time. But the big winners from these reforms are the agricultural companies in the region, because according to Luis Mesquita Dias, president of the Ahsa association, which defends the interests of 40 agricultural companies in Alentejo, “Without immigrants, this is not possible. On the one hand, the country is relatively small and its potential is greater than the number of people we have here. On the other hand, we have a population that ages quickly.”

“Everyone recognizes that there is a huge opportunity for the country and for immigrants to come here, but there are also a lot of problems that come with it.”

Juan Mesquita Dias

at franceinfo

Among the problems mentioned by Luis Mesquita Dias is that of housing for foreign workers in this rural region. “We have houses that have two bedrooms and accommodate 20 people”explains Francisco Lampreia, mayor of the municipality of Vila Nova de Milfontes, where almost 40% of the population is made up of foreigners.

He is a socialist, but, for him, the massive arrival of migrants in recent years, “it’s too much because there is a cultural shock, which we cannot hide. They have a very different culture from ours and I think we always have to balance things. We have to have conditions to receive people without losing the local culture, otherwise the locals will revolt”, he indicates. During the legislative elections of March 2024, the far-right Chega party came out on top for the first time, in several municipalities in Alentejo.

Portugal must face the emergence of networks that exploit foreign workers. The authorities also recognize that they are overwhelmed by the phenomenon, as are the migrant aid associations. “Every day, we report to the authorities because there is a boss who does not want to pay the employee, who does not pay social security contributions, who does not want to make a contract or report a work accident. work, explains Timoteo Macedo, president of Solidarité Immigrants, which receives 120 migrants daily in its small offices in Lisbon.

“With the needs of intensive agriculture, people are exploited, they work endless hours and receive very low wages.”

Timoteo Macedo, president of Immigrant Solidarity in Portugal

at franceinfo

These cases of human trafficking or illegal work regularly make the headlines in the Portuguese media and place the theme of immigration at the center of the European election campaign.