Affective Economies of Migration: Chinese-Peruvian Bonds of Love and Friendship

FAIN: FT-291175-23

Lorena Alina Cuya-Gavilano
Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ 85281-3670)

Research and writing leading to a book about Chinese indentured workers and their descendants and their relationships with indigenous and Afro-Peruvian workers in Peru during the 19th and 20th centuries.

This project focuses on stories of love and friendships that allowed Chinese indentured workers and their descendants to achieve significant upward mobility in Peru. Cross-racial solidarity, or what I call ‘affective economy of migration’, was the fundamental mechanism enabling their social mobility. It was through key cross-racial marriages and friendships that Chinese descendants were able to integrate into Peruvian society, rise as local petite bourgeoise, and emerge as an influential political force. I explore how and under what circumstances such relationships materialized. My project’s overarching argument is that Chinese inclusion in Peru has not been the product of a radical change or a radical social upheaval, but the consequence of subtle interventions facilitated by affective alliances. This form of social capital helped Chinese populations in an Andean country to occupy important intellectual, political, and economic positions.