Interview: Venezuelan immigrants need to be integrated, says expert

João Carlos Jarochinski, a professor at the Federal University of Roraima, says Brazil is ill-prepared to receive large migration flows, but it should view the situation as an opportunity

Venezuelanos fazem fila diante da Polícia Federal de Boa Vista (RR) para regularização

The economic and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela has generated an unprecedented exodus of people from the country. Many of these immigrants have moved to Brazil, crossing the border into the state of Roraima. By the end of 2017, nearly 30,000 requests for immigration documents had been received from Venezuelans.

In an interview with Conectas, João Carlos Jarochinski, professor and coordinator of the international relations course at the Federal University of Roraima and vice-coordinator of the Masters Program “Society and Borders” at the same university, spoke about this new migration flow and how the Brazilian government has been dealing with this situation.

Conectas: How do you assess the current Venezuelan migration flow to Brazil?

Jarochinski: It is a historically unprecedented flow, caused primarily by a forced migration. We’ve seen nothing like it before in our history, because traditionally Brazilians have been the ones moving to Venezuela. There’s been a very small presence of Venezuelans here, despite the proximity of the country. This flow is also unlike more recent border crossings, particularly in the Amazon region, when Haitians came to Brazil via the state of Acre and the border town of Tabatinga [in the state of Amazonas]. The difference with the Haitians and other groups [compared to the current flow of Venezuelans] is that the former crossed the border and then moved on to other regions of the country. So this buildup [of Venezuelans] on the border is a new factor, which has generated a series of demands that need a response from Brazilian society.

 

C: What about the xenophobia generated by the arrival of Venezuelans?

J: It’s important to note that a good portion of the population has been receptive. There are a series of social works being developed, people trying to accommodate them as best they can. But when the inflow increased, these efforts proved to be insufficient. It is a situation that has unfortunately caused xenophobia because it’s easier to adopt a negative discourse and only view the cost aspect of immigration. Some of this hostility is incited when a political discourse of exclusion is adopted from an election standpoint. We have seen acts of xenophobia, exclusion from some social spaces and even, in some cases, actual physical violence. Women are most vulnerable to this and we have also heard a lot about school bullying against Venezuelan children, who are now starting to attend schools in Roraima.

 

C: What can the federal government do to accommodate this contingent of people while respecting human rights?

J: The first step is to regularize their immigration status so they can exercise their rights. This is extremely important. Because Brazil is very bureaucratic, the option for asylum is the easiest, because you can get regularized quickly and obtain documents such as a work permit. I think this is the first point: to expedite the regularization mechanisms and view immigration as an opportunity. With regard to diplomacy, the economic crisis in Venezuela has been recognized by the Brazilian government. Obviously, recognizing a refugee situation has diplomatic implications, but I don’t think we have stepped up the tone. Brazil has not tried to improve diplomatic relations with Venezuela or be the facilitator in negotiations. Quite to the contrary. Brazil is often one of the countries that condemns Venezuela most harshly. I don’t think recognizing the asylum of Venezuelans causes a greater diplomatic problem than what we already have, which is a difficulty of dialogue with the country. Brazil has had a very strong discourse against Venezuela, but from the perspective of offering constructive actions it has been very weak. The process everyone is talking about, of moving the immigrants to other regions of Brazil, has been very slow and to date nothing has come of it. This has caused these people to accumulate here in Roraima. The people who can afford it have already moved elsewhere, but a significant number facing financial hardship and who haven’t been able to find jobs have remained here in the region, or at most gone to Manaus, which is the cheapest option. This has had consequences, such as xenophobia, but it has also put pressure on the public authorities. Traditionally, the border regions of Brazil have deficient public services. With the arrival of people in need, this government inefficiency has been exacerbated.

 

C: Why hasn’t the Brazilian government made a decision on asylum applications?

J: There is a delay in the analysis process [of asylum applications] and a discussion in Conare [National Committee for Refugees] about this. But looking at the initial figures, the percentage of refugee status approvals has been quite high for Venezuelans. The problem is that the procedure has been very slow. It currently takes two years on average to complete this process. Brazil has always had a very advanced refugee policy, but always considering a small number of people. As soon as Brazil faced a slightly bigger situation – and we’re not talking about an invasion, on the contrary the number of refugees is quite small – Brazil quickly showed its weakness. In 20 years, no public policy was considered to recognize asylum applications in the event of an increase in demand and, more importantly, to integrate these people into Brazilian society.

 

C: The Presidential Decree published last year that regulates the New Immigration Law rejected the authorization of residency for humanitarian reasons. In your opinion, would these humanitarian visas have been an opportunity to resolve the situation of these people?

J: In terms of immigration regularizaton, yes. If you look at the situation in Venezuela, it’s obvious that there is a humanitarian crisis: people have no food and there’s been an exponential rise in violence. If that isn’t a human rights violation, what is? So, from this point of view, it would be an opportunity. But, I repeat: Brazil is still very reluctant when it comes to taking people in and allowing residency in the country. In terms of more effective integration, we are still very incipient. From an economic and social security viewpoint, it’s essential for us to think about the integration of these immigrants, because it is perhaps an opportunity to develop an economic dynamic and, more importantly, guarantee social security. The most common discourse in political terms is that “immigration is a cost”. This is incorrect.