Introduction

This article arises from the need to contribute to an analysis centered around revitalizing the government and local actors and agents as key in the application of policies, including migration policy. Thus, its concern is highlighting and analyzing the functions and roles developed by the aforementioned key roles, thus glimpsing at the synergies between them. We consider that various academic works have already discussed and are discussing issues related to the subject matter dealt with here regarding territorial mobility, local policies and immigration, and the regulatory and jurisdictional scope in matters of foreigners between the central, regional, and local government in Spain (articles 148.1 & 149.1 CE & 67 & 68 LOEx), among others.

Other works have already addressed this subject matter from economic crises as excuses for the recentralization of migration policies at the local level, the coherence between the planning sphere (autonomous) and the executing sphere (local) of migration policies, as well as the interrelation between local authorities, immigrant associations and external factors in the planning and execution of migration policies. Some studies analyzed the quality of care given to foreign populations in the intercultural library services in Almería (^{Cervantes & Navas, 2012}), and the level of inclusion of foreign women in depopulated Catalan areas (^{Soronellas, Bodoque, Blay, Roquer, & Torrens, 2014}).

Likewise, other works have focused on the analysis of immigration and the sustainability of pensions in developed countries (^{Serrano, Eguía, & Ferreiro, 2011}), as well as on the access to health and social services by the migrant population in situations of administrative irregularity (^{Gea-Sánchez et al., 2017}). Other works also addressed the setbacks of inter-and intra-local cooperation as a challenge to delimited state border limits (^{Fernández, 2005}).

As for social integration aspects within the framework of public migration policies, a turning point can be identified in the GRECO plan (2001-2004), which according to ^{Pajares (Pajares, 2006}) and Navarro and Artola failed due to it prioritizing a migratory control approach instead of one of social integration (^{Laparra & Martínez de Lizarrondo, 2008}).

The analysis of social integration policies in Spain has been part of the academic, social, and political scenario for at least two decades, and in Europe since the 60s; this analysis focuses on how to integrate migrants and minorities into European local societies (^{Balibar, 2003}; ^{Becker, 1997}). These debates revolve around the effectiveness of multicultural integration, assimilation, and even interculturality models, all based on national models of integration.

In France, these debates revolve around the republican model of integration (assimilation) of immigrants and minorities. In the Netherlands and Great Britain, the debate is more about how multiculturalism can shape common citizenship, rather than separate groups of people (^{Bertossi, 2011}). In Spain, such debates revolve around two axes: on the one hand, on how liberal multiculturalism promotes ghettos instead of integration and interaction, and on the other, on how assimilation is not the proper way to integrate immigrants and minorities, instead of betting on interculturality (^{Martín, 1990}; ^{Romero, 2003}; ^{Aja & Arango, 2006}). In Portugal, based on a liberal multicultural integration model, authors have discussed legal integration through acquiring nationality, second and third-generation migrants’ feeling of belonging to Portuguese values, the use of African (among others) mother tongues, and cultural practices dependent on the socioeconomic structure of families, among other types of necessary debate regarding the inclusion of the migrant population and/or minorities (^{Machado, 2009}).

Liberal multicultural policies in Spain and Andalusia have been making visible and consolidating distinct, distant, and allegedly unknown cultural spaces, and they have already been sufficiently criticized. In Spain, based on various theoretical observations and the implementation of migration policies, an attempt has been made to propose inclusive citizen formulas so that migrants feel part of the Spanish context, and in particular Andalusians, through a posteriori citizenship, differentiated citizenship, and succinctly said, changes in cultural and political paradigms concerning citizenship and the nation-State.

So, in similar ways to a recipe, there are approaches that point at education as the main place wherein to interact with other cultures (^{García & Diestro, 2013}); others point at radical intercultural liberalism (^{Cortina, 2006}) as a means to free people oppressed by power inequality in community spaces, as well as for different cultures to learn to coexist (^{de Garay, Díaz, Elósegui, & Sabariego, 2009}). In short, there are also approaches to the management of intercultural mediation aimed at preventing conflict and intolerance (^{Giménez, 1997}; ^{Corella, 2018}).

In relation to the second aspect of integration policies in Spain —intercultural policies— it has already been part of the Comprehensive Immigration Plans (Planes Integrales de Inmigración), including those of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, at least since 2016. From this point of view and the European and national context, ^{Gualda Caballero (2011}) opts for integration from the perspective of interculturalism and the development of an Intercultural Cities program where interculturalism implies the explicit acknowledgment of the value of diversity, yet also doing everything possible to increase interaction, mixing and hybridization between cultural communities (Gualda Caballero, 2011).

In turn, ^{Castaño (2016}) analyzes how these intercultural policies have been applied and implemented at the local level from factors of internal coloniality, thus making visible a priori the characteristics and inequalities at the cultural level. That is to say, these policies require the integration of migrants into an Andalusian cultural context that does not correspond to the actual historical path of Andalusia, the latter linked to a rather mestizo and diverse history, not merely European and Spanish.

From such a framework, this paper aims at analyzing the characteristics of the existing public and private integration policies in Andalusian municipalities, as well as the main challenges they must face to respond to migrant needs and demands. This work intends to be explanatory and evaluative, that is, it intends to analyze local public policies on migration matters and tries to provide answers to the challenges that may arise on these grounds.

The methodologies proposed for development to meet these goals will revolve around the bibliographic review related to local policies and governments, the normative and conceptual challenges on migration and the municipal on the one hand, and communication with certain local governments, and public and private organizations (such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and universities) on the other hand. This communication is first intended at gaining first- hand knowledge of their roles in the implementation of policies for the integration of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers; second, intercultural cooperation/mediation and co-development as instruments for social cohesion were addressed; and third, the models of governance, co- responsibility of actors and citizen participation in the management of diversity and migration, asylum and refuge policies were focused on.

These communications took place in three phases, the first being sending forms to said organizations, for them to answer questions related to the three areas outlined above; the second, through interaction with them during the workshop on Integrative Andalusia (Andalucía Integradora), in which review and debate on the issues raised in the form took place; and the third, in the International Seminar, in which, in addition to reviewing and debating with the other stakeholders involved in migration policies at the local level, spaces for interaction with the public attending this event were opened. Before delving into this debate, we deem it relevant to consider certain preliminaries regarding the methodologies of interaction with local entities, NGOs, and universities.

Four local authorities participated in the aforementioned interaction process, specifically in filling the forms, being the City Council of Campillos, in Malaga, that of Córdoba, the Provincial Council of Huelva, and the City Council of Cádiz. Likewise, staff from the General Directorate for the Coordination of Migration Policies in Andalusia, from the CODENAF Association, and the University of Seville participated in this process.

The choice of the aforementioned local entities was considered convenient due to the following reasons: the City Council of Campillos holds the Citizen Attention Office and the Migration and Citizenship and Solidarity and International Cooperation Area, as part of the Delegation of Rights, Solidarity, International Cooperation and Citizen Security, which has spent years developing care work for the migrant population at the regional level. The City Council of Córdoba is part of the Network of Refugee Reception Municipalities, and we deemed it important to verify the scope of the council’s initiatives in this area, thus contributing to the effectiveness and concreteness of the measures.

Although Huelva holds only 6.77% of the non-community and 8.40% of the community populations of the total foreign population (community and non-community) in Andalusia, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE, for its acronym in Spanish), it was considered to be one of the main work focuses in terms of diversity management, given its labor importance. That is to say, Huelva holds the main fields of red fruits and citrus in which a large part of the community and non-community migrant population residing in Andalusia work. In this sense, the Provincial Council of Huelva set in motion, among other initiatives, the Support Desk for Refugees (MAR, for its acronym in Spanish), to respond to the challenges posed by the migration and refugee crisis. In addition, the City Council of Huelva from the Department of Social Policies and Equality recently created the Migrant Assistance Office (OFAM, for its acronym in Spanish), whose purpose is responding to the diverse demands arising within the framework of provincial coexistence.

In turn, Cádiz holds 6.86% of non-community and 6.08% of community foreigners over the total of these at the Andalusian level, according to data from the INE. Nonetheless, the relevance of the province of Cádiz does not seem to lie in the minimum number of community and non- community foreign population, but in that, it is the gateway into Europe from the African continent. In other words, Cádiz must have sufficient resources to respond first-hand to the challenges posed by the arrival of migrants on its shores. All these constitute basic reasons for choosing interviewees in the process of preparing this work.

Among the interviewees that participated in the process of this work is the General Directorate for the Coordination of Migration Policies in Andalusia as a key agent in the definition and coordination of policies at the regional level. It was deemed important to have the opinions of the institution that coordinates migration policies at the Andalusian level, whose impact and execution are carried out at the municipal level. Migrant NGOs in Andalusia also participated in this process, which made it possible to analyze the subjective reality of migrants in and from migration policies. Added to this are the opinions of the university environment with an extensive curriculum of publications and investigations on the issue of migration.

This work is structured around three axes that in turn are its sections, these being: 1) the theoretical-conceptual contextualization of local public and migration policies, 2) integration policies of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, and 3) instruments for social cohesion: intercultural cooperation/mediation, co-development, social and solidarity economy.

First, the contextualization of the debate on what is local and what concerns migration in Spain is carried out, and in the second and third sections the results of the discussion and debate carried out with the organizations and institutions participating in the present work —local organizations, NGOs, the General Directorate for the Coordination of Migration Policies, and the University of Seville— are presented. The closing remarks will present not only the main conclusions after the analysis of the interactions and debates carried out but also some recommendations considered of interest to reverse the course of public and private migration policies at the municipal level.

Theoretical-conceptual contextualization of local and migration public policies

To fulfill their ethical, political, and moral commitment, public policies should be locally framed for them not to fall, first, into mere declarations of good intentions, and second, in a priori universalisms and humanisms that often have very particular agendas and predetermined political- ideological frameworks (^{Herrera, 2005}) entailing inequalities of power, position, enjoyment of material and immaterial goods, as well as value system inequalities. The analysis of public policies at the local level will allow therefore to contextualize the economic, social, cultural, and political realities, and therefore the relationship of powers and the existing value systems that make spaces for the construction of a decent life for the individuals that inhabit them viable or not.

Today, more than ever, we are aware of the importance of local policies as a way of responding to specific needs on the rise, this from multilevel and cross-cutting approaches. The role of local governments must go beyond merely managing the decisions and policies defined at the level of the central and autonomous government, and rather become a kind of “local autonomy” (^{Subirats, 2010}, p. 41).

In the face of this, ^{Brugué and Gomà have called for the “repoliticization of local governments” (Brugué & Gomà, 1998}). This would mean understanding local power as a political power with the capacity for self-government. ^{Subirats (2016}) points out that local power would thus be constituted by political actors whose powers are no longer marginal to those of the central and regional powers, rather assuming a capacity for self-government that would invest their new decision-making capacity and room for action in the creation of policy.

In this process of building local public policy lines that respond to the challenges, among others, of migration policies, Subirats calls for proximity where people in the territory know and share the importance of what happens in the municipality in relation to the future of the community, of the group that lives and coexists in a specific territory, where people keep ties of belonging and involvement in common affairs (Subirats, 2016). The author highlights that “governing requires more and more capacity for involvement and commitment, both in the definition of problems and policies and in the management of programs and services” (Subirats, 2010, p. 45). This author further claims that in the face of this challenge it is necessary to add the conceptual deconstruction of the foreign and the strange, and break down the boundaries (^{Mezzadra & Neilson, 2017}) that foster exclusion. Changes are also required in the perception of what is public and what is private from a binary and different point of view, such as has been perceived from modern conceptions (^{Castro & Herrera, 2006}).

However, the path towards said integrated and intersectional management is arduous given the current scenario of prerogatives in migration matters. Thus, one of the most relevant challenges in terms of migration in Spain is found in the distribution of powers between institutions at the central, regional, and local levels. In other words, addressing migration matters is the responsibility of the central government (art. 149.1.2. CE), which in turn granted certain prerogatives to Autonomous Communities that had previously committed themselves to migration policies in their respective provisions. Aja states that “…as the powers of Autonomous Communities grew —and as immigration grew as well— the expansion of their role was perceived in such a way that the interpretation of State powers has been increasingly nuanced” (^{Aja, 2012, p. 12}). The author, a professor of constitutional law, stresses that:

Autonomous Communities have set in motion immigration policies ever since the immigration phenomenon began in the 1990s, at first through their sectoral powers, mainly in education, but also in health, labor inspection, or the protection of minors, and later as a specific matter that required coordination between the affected departments, this starting in almost all Autonomous Communities centering the matter around the Ministry of Social Welfare, Social Services or equivalent departments (^{Aja, 2012}, p. 12).

This institutional process of power distribution between the central government and Autonomous Communities took shape specifically in the reform to Immigration Law 2/2009. As stated by ^{Andreo (2012}):

Section IV of the Law takes into account the fundamental role of Autonomous Communities, acknowledging the need for collaborative management and granting priority to the preparation and effects of the integration effort report and the report on housing for family reunification. City Councils are also included in the Law if Autonomous Communities delegate their powers to them. An important aspect is the possibility provided by the law for the transfer of powers in terms of initial work authorizations, thus providing Autonomous Communities the possibility to manage, if they assume this executive power, the issuance of these permits and to even determine their geographical scope (^{Andreo, 2012}, p. 42).

Immigration Law 2/2009 is, however, ambiguous in terms of the distribution of powers to Autonomous Communities, as it:

…grants Autonomous Communities the possibility to receive powers in matters of immigration and foreigners, but does not specify what powers can those be, in addition to leaving open the possibility that Communities themselves decide to request them. This enables various actual scenarios, which can be grouped into two options: a) Communities that hold powers and for that purpose legislate how to manage immigration in their territories (such as Catalonia and Andalusia); b) Communities that have not claimed this power and are governed by State regulations (^{Andreo, 2012}, p. 43).

Along this line, Zapata-Barrero argues that:

[… ] there are inconsistencies, and contradictory messages and policies between local governments, and between local governments and the central one, especially in terms of managing particular issues wherein the division of powers is not well defined or wherein such powers are simply concurrent, most of these issues pertaining the managing of immigration: technical-administrative issues of registration, reception and first assistance, management of public space/religion, culture, urban planning, housing, schools (^{Zapata, 2012}, p. 57).

^{Montilla (2009}) argues that in terms of regulatory investment for the effectiveness of the distribution of powers in migration matters:

…it does not seem that the regulatory efforts to coordinate inter-administrative work have been effective in practical terms; finally, the relations between the State and Autonomous Communities are limited to collaboration agreements, which fundamentally imply a State commitment to finance social care for immigrants (^{Montilla, 2009}, pp. 82-84).

The distribution of powers addressed here is so relevant, above all, due to the immigrant integration policies that require a contextualized approach that the central State has been unable to undertake. As Comesaña says “…national governments [… ] are too small to respond to the larger challenges and too large to respond to those diversified demands of citizens related to those comparatively minor issues that nonetheless determine their quality of life” (^{Comesaña, 1998, p. 6}).

In short, as stated by Andreo, “...migration is a multidimensional phenomenon that requires the intervention of all public and private powers in collaboration and constant coordination” (Andreo et al., 2012, p. 10). This is what we could call multilevel governance/cooperation. ^{Zapata (2012}) understands the latter as follows:

[… ] multilevel government cooperation as a model in which the central government retains primary control over immigration and decision-making oversight, but designates subnational authorities as junior partners and allows them some discretion to assert or account for certain categories of national needs (^{Zapata, 2012}, p. 60).

Thus, “...in Spain, there is a policy of power distribution between the central government and regional and local governments, forming a complex and asymmetric system of multilevel governance for the management of immigration” (^{Agrela & University of Granada, Spain, 2005}) In this sense, the Third Sector has gained much strength, especially through NGOs and non-profit associations, as a driving force for making visible the needs of an immigrant population on the rise (^{Andreo et al., 2012}).

Based on the foregoing, the distribution of powers would be as follows: “…the State would guarantee the control of migration flows, and civil society would be in charge of promoting the integration of the migrant population, with both private and public financing” (^{Agrela & University of Granada, Spain, 2005}, pp. 28-29). Andreo complements this line of power distribution arguing that “subsequently, Autonomous Communities and municipalities shared the intervention dimension aimed at immigrants within their public policies, as evidenced by the approval of immigration plans over the last decade” (Andreo, 2012, p. 46)

^{Andreo (2012}) pointed out that “...multilevel organization has two dimensions, one internal through the Interdepartmental Commission and the other external channeled by the Andalusian Immigration Forum and the Provincial Forums” (2012, p.42). This author pointed out that the organizational chart of the multilevel organization is completed with the Comprehensive Immigration Plans in Andalusia (Andreo, 2012). Since the II Comprehensive Immigration Plan in Andalusia (II PIPIA, for its acronym in Spanish) the principle of decentralization was already considered through the creation of provincial forums, thus granting power to local authorities for the effective exercise of localized migration policies. In the III PIPIA, the following was established:

In accordance with the provisions of Law 5/2010 of June 11, on Andalusian Local Autonomy, it is the municipalities that hold, as their own powers, the management of community social services, in accordance with the Regional Plan and Map of Andalusian Social Services (article 9.3), and the execution of immigration policies through the accreditation of settlement for the social integration of immigrants, as well as the accreditation of the adequacy of housing for the family reunification of immigrants (article 9.28). Likewise, it should be noted that the Law of Local Autonomy empowers municipalities for the exercise of their powers and the provision of services, to act directly or in association with other municipalities, local entities, public administrations, or non-profit public or private entities (PIPIA_III.pdf, n.d., pp. 69-70).

In short, there is already a regulatory framework in place that establishes action in the social and migrant integration sphere by local governments and private agents (basically NGOs) in Spain. What remains to be determined is how this action is carried out on the field, this being our aim in the following sections, as we analyze the results of the discussion and debate with the organizations and institutions participating in this work.

Migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker integration policies

In accordance with the analysis of theoretical frameworks and regulations for the integration of immigrants in Spain carried out above, this section intends to ground said analysis in specific programs according to the interviews and debates carried out with key agents in the area of migration in Andalusia. Thus, in relation to the policies for the integration of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers developed by local entities and/or NGOs, the General Directorate for the Coordination of Migration Policies, and universities, the option of multiple choice was given, discriminating responses from these. In this sense, the three organizations (local entities/NGOs, the General Directorate for the Coordination of Migration Policies, and universities) mainly allocate the same resources that are granted to the entire population registered in the municipality, that is, without distinction of nationality, gender, race, social class, or socio-legal status (having a residence permit or not).

In the specific case of local entities and/or NGOs, the second option in terms of social rights policies aimed at migrant and refugee populations consists of providing specific resources based on the different residence permits (26.6%), such as can be seen in the following graph (Graph 1). In other words, while in the first option equal care is given to everyone without discrimination, in this second option priority is given to those who have a valid residence permit in Spain. This confirms the importance of having or not a residence permit (social legal status) in guaranteeing the rights of migrants in Spain (^{Morris, 2002}; ^{Solanes, 2016}; ^{Tomé, 2015}).

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 1 Social Rights Policies Aimed at Migrants and Refugees-Local Entities and NGOs 

In relation to the General Directorate for the Coordination of Migration Policies (DGCPM), despite being an autonomous organization, its actions and policies are applied at the local level. Therefore, as already stated, the highest percentage of resources is allocated to the entire population registered in the municipality without distinction. The second category includes specific resources for foreigners with residence permits, this percentage is somewhat higher in the case of NGOs (27.2%). The care of the DGCPM in the field of social rights does not discriminate between so-called economic migrants and refugees, thus being more inclusive. Likewise, its intervention and actions are comprehensive and compensatory to the social inequalities experienced by migrant and refugee populations, as ^{Subirats (2016}) stated in previous lines. In other words, at the local and regional level, it tries to respond to the demands of the migrant and refugee populations, among others.

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 2 Social Rights Policies Aimed at Migrants and Refugees - DGCPM 

At the university level, what was previously stated about equal resource allocation to the entire population registered at the municipal level (63%) without distinction is reiterated, in this case with a higher percentage than the other cases. For universities, out of the social rights involved in the survey (housing, health, education), the focus has been placed on the educational field, mainly due to their scope of action, thus evidencing that in this field the demand for social rights without discrimination of nationality, race, class, gender, or socio-legal status is met.

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 3 Social Rights Policies Aimed at Migrants and Refugees-Universities 

To bring further clarity to the profiles of the migrant and refugee populations to which the resources/policies and actions in the field of social rights are allocated, the responses of local entities/NGOs/DGCPM/universities are unified according to which documents are required from potential beneficiaries. Although there is a slight predominance of not requiring any particular document (42.8%), the importance of administrative regularity in order to benefit from social rights remains evident (35.7%).

In other words, basic care without discrimination in terms of social rights by key agents such as NGOs, DGCPM, and universities (42.8%) is evident. However, 35.7% of this care does require (accounting for the three types of entities) that the people served to have a residence permit to access basic and specific social services, meaning that in the end, they end up discriminating between those people who have a residence permit and those who do not. This issue is partially one of the main concerns of the ^{European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights}, and of diverse academic works and reports that reflect on it (^{Delvino, 2017}; ^{Fernández, 2019}). That is compliance with the fundamental rights of the European Union and basic human rights standards in access to rights by migrants in a situation of administrative irregularity.

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 4 Document Requirements for Migrants/Refugees 

Likewise, it was deemed convenient to collect information regarding the source of financing of said social policies aimed at migrant and refugee populations. Most of the financing comes from regional (28.5%), European (21.4%), and municipal (21.4%) funds and calls. In other words, although State resources cover 17.8%, they still stand lower than the three categories just mentioned, which warns of the disconnect between the center and the municipalities and, therefore, on the need to repoliticize municipal action (^{Subirats, 2016}; ^{Brugué & Gomà, 1998}). In this sense, the DGCPM calls for the renewal of the Support Funds for the Reception and Integration of Immigrants (FAIREA, for its acronym in Spanish) and greater involvement of European funds in municipal policies. In this sense, the action of the Andalusian Regional Strategy for Social Cohesion and Inclusion (ERACIS, for its acronym in Spanish) is worth highlighting, inserted in a European context, and to aid the most disadvantaged areas of Seville, where a high percentage of the migrant population lives.

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 5 Sources of Financing for Social Policies 

Based on the responses provided by the surveyed organizations, out of the sources of private financing those of La Caixa, Fundación Cajasol, Cáritas, and the Red Cross are worth highlighting.

Finally, to verify the roots of the care provided to migrant and refugee populations in the municipal entities and/or the NGOs, DGCPM, and universities, we enquired on their structure, as well as on the mainstreaming with other services and departments. As for structure, social services are integrated areas in a municipal department and/or NGOs of the DGCPM and/or universities (42.8%), and care is usually of a comprehensive nature (42.8%). In other words, it is about approaching migrant/refugee necessities beyond what is expressly communicated, thus accounting for heterogeneity based on their subjectivities (gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, social class, among others).

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 6 Structure of Social Services 

Now, when it comes to the mainstreaming of public and private services, that is, the interconnection with other services and departments, it became evident that coordination usually takes place in specific cases (46.1%), as well as through the active and regular participation in workshops and forums (38.4%). In other words, there is little daily dialogue between the different municipal departments and sections, NGOs, regional organizations, and universities, to respond transversally to the integration demands of the migrant population. This complicates the process of integration, as migrants must then resort to more than one service from the same association, university, municipal and regional government so that their demands/needs are met.

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 7 Mainstreaming of Services 

After having exposed the key elements of the debate on the characteristics of public and private policies aimed at the migrant population in local areas, the following section will try to emphasize the main instruments that serve to land social cohesion policies at the local level. That is to say, the next section will try to address intercultural cooperation/mediation, co-development, and social and solidarity economy.

Social cohesion instruments: intercultural cooperation/mediation, codevelopment, social and solidarity economy

According to ^{Romero (2003}) and ^{Herrera (2006}), activities of an intercultural nature are the main ones able to consolidate effective social cohesion in migration matters at the local level. In this sense and based on the results of the dialogue with key agents carried out for this work, it became evident that almost all the institutions and organizations that work on migration issues in Andalusia organize/promote activities of an intercultural nature.

However, organizing intercultural activities will not suffice; rather, interculturality is the overall approach that institutions and organizations must have to achieve real inclusion and interaction. In other words, intercultural events are not a panacea of sorts for the challenges of migrant integration, but rather a resource that aids in the interaction between individuals of different cultural, racial, gender, social class, and nationality contexts. One of the innovative aspects of this work is the inclusion of these subjectivities as elements of analysis in migrant integration plans in Spain. Thus, in the first place, a large part of the intercultural activities carried out in Andalusia are talks and colloquiums, and leisure activities (gastronomy, culture, and music) (Graph 8).

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 8 The Focus of Intercultural Activities 

Secondly, on a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being little participation and 5 an activity designed and directed by immigrant populations, migrant participation in the design and development of intercultural activities is minimal and medium level. That is, unlike other analyzes that emphasize the categories of intercultural activities organized at the educational (^{Gómez, Chicón, & Alcaraz, 2019}), librarian (^{Cervantes & Navas, 2012}), and health (^{Sos, 2015}) fields and/or actions such as talks, colloquiums, or leisure activities, here our interest lies in finding out if there was a participative plurality in the organization of such activities or if it simply consisted of an initiative on the part of national organizations and individuals who then invited migrant populations.

This emphasis is important due to, among other aspects, the fact that migrant attendance will depend on whether migrant populations participate in the organization and feel part of it; the diversity of viewpoints and approaches to activities; the decentralization and scheduling of events considering the labor dynamics and contexts of migrant population groups, among other relevant issues.

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 9 Immigrant Participation Level in the Design and Development of Intercultural Activities 

Thirdly, the predominant field where activities of an intercultural nature are usually organized is that of coexistence, that is, it matches what is shown in Graph 10 regarding leisure activities. In other words, activities such as parties and intercultural gatherings are the most important. The second field where this type of activity is usually carried out is education, which also matches what is shown in Graph 10. That is to say, in the educational area, both playful coexistence activities and talks and debates are usually centered around interculturality. In this sense, the focus of actions in the educational field should focus on the demystification of cultural stereotypes and of the cultural essentialist vision that students have of their cultural environment, rather than on the presentation of multicultural points of view of the context in which they reside (^{Tomé & Rodríguez, 2020}).

In other words, egalitarian intercultural action would be able to establish itself in the educational and other fields once the migrant population is no longer perceived as strange and distant from the Spanish and Andalusian contexts, in particular, and once stereotypes are demystified. Otherwise, a priori unequal intercultural contexts will develop, in which the values, discourses, and narratives of a single cultural context would prevail.

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 10 Fields of Intercultural Activities  

Finally, what we deem the most important aspect of intercultural activities is real interaction and the exchange of knowledge, as explained in the lines above. Along these lines, in the next graph, the participation of the native population predominates in the process of organizing these types of activities, as previously shown in Graph 10. Although first appearing to be a positive point, the predominance of the Spanish/Andalusian population and the little participation of migrant populations minimizes the interaction and knowledge of what is supposedly strange and distant. In other words, along the lines of what is shown in the previous graph, what is important is not organizing events in which attendees are expected to come and interact, but rather carrying out the a priori demystifications that will allow for an a posteriori reaching out.

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 11 Level of Interaction in Intercultural Activities 

In view of the above data, referring to the almost lack of migrant presence in activities of an intercultural nature, and therefore to the necessary interaction in integration activities with key agents, it has been possible to verify that in an activity organized in the municipality of Campillos, Málaga, aimed at domestic workers, only migrant women participated even if it was aimed at all women in this sector. In this case, we see an opposite scenario (although a single population group always predominates) which still makes the possibility of interaction unfeasible.

According to our interviewee from the City Council of Campillos, for women to identify themselves as belonging to the same working field —domestic workers— and as facing similar hardships has proven to be challenging. This meaning that nationality and cultural assumptions prevail among domestic workers, which differentiate them beyond what they have in common with their native peers at the professional group level in the town of Campillos. In the municipality of Huelva, the Migrant Assistance Office organizes activities mainly aimed at the native population, although participation has also been sufficient in those aimed at refugees.

Other reasons that explain the almost ineffectiveness of this type of intercultural activities are, on the one hand, xenophobia and false information that prevent reach out and dialogue, as well as the fact that these activities are aimed at migrant populations as beneficiaries, rather than involving them in their organization.

In the face of so many setbacks, it becomes necessary to consider the main challenges in the process of organizing and developing these activities. In the following multiple-choice graph (Graph 12), the main challenges identified were involving the migrant and native populations in participation, as well as financing for logistics, spaces, and technical means. The first two challenges are almost self-revealing: if both population groups do not know each other or participate together in activities daily, and stereotyped facts and practices and racism and xenophobia prevail, all of this makes it impossible for them to unite in the organization of and participation in an event of such intercultural nature.

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents.

Graph 12 Main Challenges in Organizing Intercultural Activities 

These challenges are also explained as due to the unmatching work schedules of the migrant and native populations, which results in a lack of time for leisure, to the lack of technicians with training in intercultural matters, which hinders equal interaction, and to the still necessary work of the media in demystifying stereotypes, among others.

Attempts were made to assess the commitment of the participating local entities, NGOs, and universities to a comprehensive vision of the world in terms of co-development, respectively from the observations by ^{Naïr and a collective work (Naïr, 2010}, ^{Romero, Martínez, García, & Maisonave, 2006}). By the comprehensive vision of the world is meant the understanding that actions/behaviors/patterns of a socio-economic, socio-political, and socio-cultural nature at the local level are interconnected and have consequences in other parts of the world. In this sense, dialogue should be established between the concept of co-development by Naïr and that of degrowth according to ^{Latouche (2010}) and ^{Taibo (2011}) in their respective works on the matter.

From the responses to this approach, it is clear that the Comprehensive Plan for Immigration of the Regional Government of Andalusia covers a specific field aimed at cooperation and development, including actions from the Department of Social Policies and Equality through the Andalusian Plan of Cooperation for Development (PACODE, for its acronym in Spanish); that CODENAF runs several cooperation projects in Senegal and Morocco; that the Provincial Council of Huelva has financed projects in Cameroon and Senegal through the Calls for Grants for Aiding Development; and that in the municipality of Campillos, the New World Immigrant Association has been revitalized in order to develop care projects for the elderly in Ecuador.

Likewise, attempts were made to outline the commitment of key agents in migration matters from a comprehensive global approach, as well as to assess their commitment in matters of social and solidarity economy in terms of interculturality. The following graph shows that almost all interviewees (90%) consider that social and solidarity economy serves to promote interculturality at the local level. Interculturality is perceived as being able to bring new life to a complex understanding of migration beyond local contexts. In other words, interculturality can show that the different ways of living and lifestyles of Europe influence the causes of migration in African, Asian, as well as Latin and Central American countries (^{Herrero, 2020}).

Source: Own elaboration based on information obtained from the dialogue with local agents

Graph 13 Social and Solidarity Economy and Interculturality 

When asked how to concretize a solidarity economy from interculturality, our interviewees stated that this could be achieved in different ways, such as: by developing alternative economic models; by a non-formal economy of support among migrants, microcredits, the goodwill contribution of people, entities, and social enterprises; by understanding social and solidarity economy as a space for the creation of support networks among people from a sustainable and proximity approach. To this was added considering that the current practices of inclusion start from discrimination and exclusion, then the values of diversity, exchange of knowledge, and community could be made use of to facilitate the work of integration and mutual enrichment in smaller relationship units.

It was also suggested that migrants who undertake this type of business should be made visible and openly supported. Finally, reestablishing the original function of the economy by putting it at the service of the community and the people was proposed, so that workers can be more respected, beyond the spirit of business profit. All this remains at the mercy of more detailed analysis in future investigations, of actions that contribute to development, of co-development and degrowth approaches, as well as the inclusion of solidarity economy in interculturality.

Closing remarks

This article represents an attempt at prioritizing the local sphere as a context of proximity for public, private, and mixed policies on migration. In other words, from proximity, there are not only municipalities and localities, but mainly the composition of the populations living in them, their interaction and/or ghettoization, the conditions of vulnerability of these populations, and their subjectivities in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religiosity, generational level, among others.

As evidenced in this work, after years of struggle for the repoliticization of local governments, the latter continue to be subordinated to the decisions made at the central and regional levels, thus conditioning their fields of action and intervention. This requires further repoliticization of local governments, meaning their participation in negotiation and decision-making spaces, as well as the provision of sufficient economic and human resources able to respond to contemporary challenges. To this should be added the need to break with the boundaries and the myths about strangers, to go beyond the binomials that have marked modernity such as man versus woman, national versus foreigner, among others. Likewise, it is necessary for governments to expand their field of action beyond their mere administrative functions, as is also needed for them to network horizontally with the other existing public, private, and mixed main actors at the local, national, and international levels.

As stated earlier above, local action also means taking into account the composition of the resident population groups, and in this sense, human mobility has been reconfiguring that composition for centuries already. Thus, migrant subjectivities should be accounted for, among which socio-legal conditions and their consequences on the economic, work, family, and mobility life of migrants stand out. In other words, we must realize to which extent do situations of administrative regularity and irregularity play a role in the obtainment of economic resources, in the employment search, in family stability, and freedom of transit, given the fear of migrants being questioned by police agents and later being deported.

Along this order of ideas, it is important to point out that local entities can play a very important role in relation to the exercise of social rights at the municipal level through the registration of foreign populations. This must be done based on the direct vote of STC 17/2013 of January 31, thus guaranteeing the privacy and honor of foreigners, consequently doing away with the fear of being reported in the name of the fight against irregular immigration (articles 10.1 & 13.1 CE).

To talk about the integration/inclusion policies of migrant populations at the local level means reiterating the challenges posed by, on the one hand, the regulations on the action of the central, regional, and local governments in migration matters, and on the other, the main agents acting in this field. Thus, it has been shown how the central and regional governments set the guidelines and frameworks according to which local governments, NGOs, associations, foundations, among others, subsequently act.

The contextualized reality of local entities/NGOs, the DGCPM, and universities show that in terms of integration/inclusion policies for the migrant population at the local level, the same resources provided to the general population registered in the towns are also provided to migrant populations. However, clarifying what is stated in the introduction of this work on the importance of the socio-legal migrant condition, certain resources are conditioned to different residence permits, thus demonstrating the existing “civic stratification” among migrant populations themselves.

As for the sources of financing, the existing disconnection between the State and local spheres stands out, given that regional, European and municipal sources predominate. As pointed out in chapter II on the need to take into account other agents besides public ones, private sources of financing also play a very important role in actions undertaken for the inclusion of migrant populations at the local level.

We congratulate altogether the local entities, NGOs, the DGCPM, and the universities on the structure of social services aimed at migrant populations, given that this structure is integrated into a single department for the most part and care is usually provided comprehensively. This should however not mean disregard for improvement in this department or section. Challenging as the need for networking is, the coordination between the main actors and agents in terms of inclusion policies at the local level usually occurs promptly.

When it comes to the guidelines for intercultural cooperation/mediation, we deem it necessary not to fall into cultural essentialisms such as a priori universalism or universalism of parallel lines. In other words, one must realize that discourses defending predetermined ways of behaving civically, and civilized ways to which everyone must adapt or integrate, are fallacies. Likewise, one should understand that the opposite is also a fallacy: ghettoizing oneself locally by believing in local and national cultural essentialisms. It is better to bet on the pollution and hybridization of what is considered pure (identity, belonging, what is national), based on the fact of human mobility that has always been a global reality. In this sense, Andalusia as a land of mobility of various and diverse peoples for centuries must rescue and claim its ‘mestizo’ reality, which entails reconnecting with those aspects of population groups that are considered strange, in this way managing to undertake processes of egalitarian and intercultural cooperation/mediation without a priori inequality.

Along with other ways of understanding cultural interactions, we understand that other ways of analyzing the world in which we live in terms of the reasons for the flight of migrants and/or refugees could be also taken into account. In other words, local entities, NGOs, regional authorities, and universities need to address the structural inequalities that lead to leaving the countries of origin and transiting as something interconnected with our styles and ways of life in part of the opulent North. In other words, as we have aimed at evidencing through this work, the concepts of development-migration-degrowth must be connected.

Regarding the contextualization of this debate, given the evidence that almost all local entities, NGOs, public regional entities, and universities organize activities of an intercultural nature, it appears to be necessary for their focus to broaden beyond leisure, talks, and colloquiums, into promoting greater migrant participation in activity design and development, also expanding their scope beyond parties and education.

Therefore, we believe that intercultural activities should serve for interaction between the people participating in them, thus promoting greater migrant and Spanish participation where it may be scarce. In short, it is necessary to overcome the main challenges in the organization and development of intercultural activities, thus achieving greater participation and involvement of both the migrant and native populations, schedule compatibility with family and work tasks, technical means, and professional training, among others.

In terms of the development-migration-degrowth connection, the action and contributions of local entities, NGOs, the DGCPM, and universities should be acknowledged, as should be the direct consequences of our ways of living and lifestyles in the municipalities on the countries in which projects are financed. In doing so, instead of the current donation approach, a more comprehensive relationship would develop, in which consumption, ways of living, and lifestyles would have to be reconsidered.

In line with the above, a social and solidarity economy would be of great help if mutual support, sustainability, proximity, people, and nature are focused on.

Translation: Fernando Llanas