In the city of Calama, the so-called mining capital of Chile in the northern region of Antofagasta, the marked social contrasts are reflected by the proximity of affluent neighbourhoods of modern homes next to shantytowns of tumbledown wooden huts. But some 4, local families continue to live in slums β a reflection of one of the most marked situations of inequality in this country.
The miners earn a lot of money, their wages are really high. In the municipality of Calama , where the city is located, there are 37 mining operations. The region of Antofagasta has the highest GDP per capita the country, the highest level of economic growth, and the best conditions for achieving development, according to a study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD. The city is home to , people, although the floating population of workers attracted by the mines drives the total up to over , The city of Calama describes itself as an oasis hidden in the middle of the Atacama desert, the driest place in the world.
It is also a strategic hub of mining in the region of Antofagasta in northern Chile, where copper mining is the main economic activity. A large part of the 57, immigrants living in the region, which borders Argentina and Bolivia and is not far from Peru, are in Calama, drawn by the mining industry.
The mix of nationalities can be seen on a day-to-day basis, such as in the waiting room at a public hospital. In a short tour of the run-down centre of Calama, which stands in sharp contrast to the better-off parts of the city, visitors run into immigrants from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
The foreign labour force is mainly engaged in domestic service, in the case of women, and in professional and technical jobs or manual labour in mining or construction, in the case of men. A significant number of immigrant women are also involved in prostitution, traditionally a service in high demand in mining towns, where there are many men on their own.
