“Immigrant Invasions to the South American Tiger”: Immigration Representations in Chilean Newspapers (1991–2001)

Since the early 1990s, Chile has become a regionally relevant immigrant receiving country. This increase in immigration, the largest in the country’s history, has encountered distinct responses from the state, civil society, and—particularly—printed media. Using a thematic analysis of 134 articles published between 1991 and 2001, I argue that Chilean newspapers framed the portrayals of recent immigrants within the historical construction of the late 19^th-century European migration to Chile as well as by a belief of racial superiority of Chileans with relation to its northern neighbors. Compared to more recent analysis, these point to a larger trend of anti-immigrant representations in Chilean newspapers.