Venezuelans: The Journey Continues

By Evely Torres

When their country did not offer the life they wanted, millions of Venezuelans embarked on a journey towards a better life. In an effort to escape food insecurity, violence and the lack of access to healthcare in their country, the Venezuelan exodus is the largest displacement of Latin Americans in the world. After oil prices declined in 2015 an economic crisis struck Venezuela, causing thousands of Venezuelans to immigrate to new countries every day. However, many are struggling to find a home outside of their motherland – essentially making the life of a Venezuelan immigrant a continuous journey.

When being interviewed by Univision, Yindri Gúzman, a 19-year-old single mother, described the life of a Venezuelan as a life mostly spent on foreign territory. Yindri traveled with nothing but her two small children from Venezuela to Ecuador. When she arrived at the Ecuadorian border, she was sent to a refugee camp even after she cried and begged authorities to let her through. Like many Venezuelan migrants,

Yindri had no power over where authorities would place her and whether or not she would be able to continue her journey across borders.

In her 2021 case study, Elizabeth Torres described the ‘Chilean Oasis’ that Venezuelan migrants are enamored with. In an effort to understand their motives, Torres interviewed seven Venezuelan women who migrated to Chile. Suti, a 43-year-old teacher, migrated from Venezuela to Colombia where she lived for two and a half years before moving to Chile where she intended to reunite with her son who remained in Venezuela to complete his studies. She believed Chile would offer better job opportunities for her son and knew Venezuelan migrants were welcome.

In 2018, Chile offered a Democratic Responsibility Visa (DRV) for Venezuelan citizens which according to the International Organization for Migration resulted in Venezuelans now constituting 23% of Chile’s migrant population. In 2019, Venezuelans were able to apply for a DRV in any Chilean consulate in the world as opposed to only being available in Chile. The DRV grants Venezuelans permission to reside in Chile for a year with the opportunity to extend their stay by 12 months.

Surrounding countries have reacted to this massive influx of migration in a variety of ways. For instance, Colombia offers a Border Mobility Card to Venezuelans which helps them to cross their border and gain access to basic goods and services in Colombia for up to seven days.

Initially, Peru offered work permits and afterschool programs to Venezuelans and their children. However, a lack of space and resources led them to start requiring visas to enter the country in June 2019. Ecuador followed suit in July 2019 with the Ecuadorian Executive Decree 286.

Faced with border closures, migratory restrictions or unemployment in a foreign country, Venezuelans keep moving forward in search of a new home—showcasing the resilient nature yielded by all migrants.

Leon, Edu. 2018. “En su propia voz: 10 venezolanos narran el éxodo a través de los Andes.” Univision. https://www.univision.com/noticias/ crisis-en-venezuela/el-exodo-venezolano-en-diez-historias.

2 Torres, Elizabeth Z., and Noel B. Salazar. 2021. “Searching for the ‘Chilean Oasis’: Waiting and Uncertainty in the Migration Trajectories of Venezuelan Women.” Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies.

3 Ramos, Natalia, Hugh Bronstein, Tom Brown, and Daniel Wallis. 2019. “Chile offers ‘democratic responsibility visa’ to Venezuelan migrants.” Reuters, June 22, 2019. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-venezuela-immigration/chile-offers-democratic-responsibility-visa-tovenezuelan-migrants-idUSKCN1TN0MN.

4 Welsh, Teresa. 2020. “Colombia to expand temporary legalization measures for Venezuelans.” Devex, January 16, 2020. https://www.devex.com/ news/colombia-to-expand-temporary-legalization-measures-for-venezuelans-96373.

5 Dupraz, Paula. 2019. “In Peru, tougher rules set to push Venezuelan migration underground.” The New Humanitarian, July 9, 2019. https:// www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2019/07/09/peru-tougher-rules-venezuelan-migration.

6 reliefweb. 2019. “Ecuador Situation Report - July 2019 - Ecuador.” ReliefWeb. https://reliefweb.int/report/ecuador/ecuador-situation-reportjuly-2019.