Intersectionalities and care work: Bolivian circular migration in northern Chile

Abstract

This article analyzes the multiple oppressions in care work and in the circular migration of Bolivian women in northern Chile. Through a qualitative methodology that considers in-depth interviews, the analysis uses the theoretical perspectives of decolonial feminism and intersectionalities. Decolonial feminism operates as a critical framework of the global structures and power relations that produce and reproduce the unequal relations that affect migrant women. In turn, the intersectional approach deepens the study of circular migration in cross-border areas, where both social inequalities and simultaneous oppressions are legitimized and consolidated. The findings indicate that social class, gender, race, and immigration status make up a racialization and sexualization of care workers.