In the past decade the countries with markets that needed seasonal labour sought new ways of importing foreign workers through channelling and recruitment programs in countries of origin. Starting from the premise that this form of hiring is based exclusively on the need for labour, this article seeks to demonstrate that, in the case of Spain, the effective development of this process has only been possible because of a flexible and dynamic system, including several bilateral agreements with Latin American countries. A flexible management of these programs has been implemented mainly through the legislation, the implicated institutions and actors, and the immigrants themselves, who have known how to (or have been forced to) adapt to the changes of a labour market conditioned by the globalization of labour and capital.

Key words: immigration, seasonal workers, circular Migration, Spain, Latin America

http://hdl.handle.net/10261/104221 (Digital CSIC)