Taking measures in the economic field. This is the way, according to the writer and former diplomat José María Ridao, for the immigration phenomenon not to continue as we know it. For the analyst, it is necessary to "liberalize international trade", mainly agricultural, and favor the "denunciation of the shadow economy", which according to Ridao, "dives into the construction and services sector." These are solutions that the writer offered within the framework of the "Borders and Directions of Progress" forum of the César Manrique Foundation.
Ridao, who explained that he prefers to call immigration "labor market adjustment", based his speech on the analysis of the causes and future consequences of this phenomenon. Causes that the speaker placed more in developed countries than in the "third world." Not surprisingly, according to Ridao, "they have been suffering the same situation for several decades, under dictatorships or in war." Therefore, he argued that these circumstances do not explain the multiplication of the phenomenon. "The calculation they make is that they will always find a more profitable job than in their country," the writer stated.
Faced with this, Ridao believes that the reaction of the "advanced countries" has been to address the issue from ideological and not economic approaches. An "erroneous" analysis for Ridao, who believes that "if economic measures are not taken, the playing field for addressing immigration ends up being the Rule of Law, with the dangers that it entails." Ridao summarized the complex situation by stating that "if the Rule of Law is altered to face this phenomenon, the principle of equality before the Law is altered." Laws that he describes as "exceptional", according to the analyst, because they do not apply to everyone in a territory but to the "personal conditions of individuals":
Historical and cultural keys
The writer outlined the process of immigration in Europe during the last decades, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the present, and pointed out three fundamental causes as generators of the process: the consideration "as synonyms of deregulation and liberalization", the "thinning" of the State, by confusing the public sector with the basic institutions of the State, as well as the "disappearance of the regulation of international financial flows." Flows that, according to Ridao, "liberalize agriculture with strong protectionist measures, thus preventing the development of poor countries.
Ridao also highlighted the cultural problem posed by the arrival of immigrants to our countries. Firstly, he highlighted "the progressive loss" of the notion of "enlightened culture", in favor of "romantic culture." A situation in which culture is not opposed to ignorance but to another culture. The analyst cited the attitude of Nicolás Sarkozy, and his "identity drift" in wanting to "force all immigrants to know the values and French language. A situation that, according to Ridao, creates "first and second class citizens", leaving out many French people.
The writer concluded his presentation by adding two points of view to this phenomenon from the perspective of the "rich governments." According to Ridao, if what these governments want is to "solve illegal hiring" they should emphasize "labor inspections", while on the contrary if they want to solve the "hiring of illegal workers", emphasis should be placed, according to Ridao, on "more police, security and controls." An alternative that the writer considers "does not contribute to solving the problem".