Immigration, Discrimination, and "Lepenization" in Spain: A Demo-Spatial Analysis at the Municipal and Intra-Municipal Scale

ANDY TRIANA , Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics CED
Andreu Domingo, Centre for Demographic Studies
JORDI BAYONA I CARRASCO, CED

This research analyzes the relationship between international immigration, discrimination, and the rise of the far-right using a demo-spatial and multi-scalar approach. The study takes as its starting point the thesis of Le Bras (2024), who points to the absence of a correlation between immigration and the far-right vote in Europe. We seek to delve into the particular demographic and territorial features, including the political tension between Spanish nationalism and peripheral independence movements. Spain is a receiving society, with a 16% foreign-born population. Nevertheless, the consolidation of Vox since 2013, driven by radical ex-members of conventional right-wing parties, drives an electoral shift characterized as "Lepenization"—the normalization of radical anti-immigrant positions (Tévanian and Tissot, 1998). These parties secure votes through discourses centered on an exclusive and racialized idea of national identity (Wallerstein and Balibar, 1991). The study posits that a correlation exists between the spatial configuration of the immigrant population and anti-immigrant vote at specific territorial scales delving into the particular demographic and territorial features of Spanish context, including the tension between nationalist and independence movements. The methodology combines quantitative methods applied to census and electoral data. Cluster Analysis is used as an empirical step to validate the four proposed municipality types, while Multivariate Regression Models test the core hypotheses. The work aims to provide empirical evidence that the anti-immigrant vote is determined by racialization and local segregation attitudes promoted in political discourses. This is an innovative finding that highlights recent forms of discrimination and institutional racism affecting migrant and minority populations.

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 Presented in Session 64. Flash Session Residential Context and Spatial Segregation in Migrant Populations