The last decade in Argentina has been positive in economic terms, creating employment and business opportunities but paradoxically, it has also experienced an expansion of informal settlements. This contradiction reflects the failure of housing and urban policies to allocate space for low income populations. Some studies consider that such expansion is mostly a result of the arrival of migrants from neighboring countries, especially from Bolivia, who occupy public and private land that is strategically located near job and business opportunities.

Historically, Argentina and Bolivia have been closely interlinked since the early 1940’s when Argentinean cities and towns experienced significant migration flows from Bolivian citizens in search of employment, educational opportunities and higher standards of living. Within Bolivia, the search for better opportunities has also been the key driver for the internal migration of rural workers towards the main cities. As rapid urban growth has strained the capacity of local and national governments to provide basic services, Bolivian migrants have usually settled in informal settlements and over-crowded slums in both countries. Evidence of the close connection between increased internal and external migration and the growth of informal settlements emerged in the last census. This has a serious impact on human rights, such as the right to decent housing, water and sanitation, and also in the case of migrants, potential discrimination and segregation. In both countries, current challenges are related not only to effectively guarantee migrants’ fundamental rights to adequate housing and basic urban services, but also to address discrimination against persons with a migrant background, as host communities competing for resources tend to perceive migrants as a threat rather than an opportunity for development.

In recent years, Argentina has adopted a new immigration law and a bilateral agreement with Bolivia that establishes that migrants and their families shall enjoy the same rights as nationals. Bolivia has also advocated for more human rights-centered policies, seeking to help rural migrants to settle in towns. However, while there have been some improvements over the years, there is a huge deficit in terms of Bolivian migrants’ effective access to fundamental rights and actual law enforcement.    

There is a continuing trend towards rapid urban growth in multicultural cities in Argentina and Bolivia. Because of this, participatory planning strategies are critical to open a channel for dialogue and cooperation that will help to achieve social inclusion of migrants in parallel to safeguarding the fundamental rights of the whole population.