The Venezuelan Migrant Crisis: Forging a Model for Regional Response

Author(s)
Huang, C. & Gough, K.
Publication language
English
Pages
8pp
Date published
06 Aug 2018
Publisher
Center for Global Development
Type
Research, reports and studies
Keywords
Livelihoods, Government, Forced displacement and migration
Countries
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

An economic, political, and humanitarian crisis has driven more than one million Venezuelans across the border into Colombia in the past year. While the crisis has deep roots, the current wave of migrants started fleeing in 2015, after the fall in oil prices and President Nicolás Maduro’s counterproductive responses. After inheriting an already failing economy from his predecessor Hugo Chávez, Maduro resorted to running his government via oil-driven patronage, printing more money, and dismantling democratic institutions. The result has been economic freefall: the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates hyperinflation may reach one million percent this year. A majority of Venezuelans have involuntarily lost more than 20 pounds on average and violent crime is rampant. At some points, the Red Cross estimated an average of 37,000 migrants—both Venezuelans and returning Colombians—were moving across the border each day. Some stay for a few hours or days to gather supplies and access services before returning. Many remain in Colombia at the border or in larger cities, while others migrate onward to other countries. Across the region, there are more than 1.5 million displaced Venezuelans. The number of displaced Venezuelans may eventually exceed the number of Syrians displaced by the Syrian civil war.