Migration, Cities and Borders: Venezuelan Migration to Brazilian and Colombian Border Towns

Abstract

The political and economic crisis in Venezuela has provoked different regional effects, including the expulsion of a large part of the population from this country that increasingly crosses borders in order to seek better living conditions in neighboring countries. Countries that have common borders with Venezuela, like Colombia, Brazil and, to a lesser extent, Guyana, receive most of the migratory flows and their effects, which overwhelm local capacities to response to the migrant population’s demands. In this regard, this paper has the aim of describing Venezuelan migration across Colombian and Brazilian borders, underlining the specificities of each case and the common problems of the people who arrive in border cities of both countries. The response of local government and civil society concerning migration into these territories is predominantly negative with regard to both the migration and the borders.