Venezuelan diaspora

The Venezuelan diaspora includes ethnic Venezuelans living outside Venezuela. In times of economic and political crisis, Venezuelans have often fled abroad to establish a more sustainable life.

Venezuelan diaspora

World map showing countries with the largest Venezuelan populations
Location	of diaspora:  Colombia 1,700,000[1][2]  Peru 859,659[3]  Brazil +500,000[4][5]  United States 259,000-500,000[6]  Ecuador 300,000[7]  Spain 300,000[8]  Chile 288,000[9]  Argentina 130,000[9]  Trinidad and Tobago 100,000[10]  Mexico 95,000[11]  Dominican Republic 90,000[12]  Panama 80,000[11]  Italy 48,970[13]  Canada 34,000[14]  France 30,000[10]  Costa Rica 25,000[15]  Germany 20,000[10]  Paraguay 20,000[16]  Curaçao 16,000[17]  United Kingdom 15,000[18]  Cuba 15,000[10]  Lebanon 12,000[19]  Uruguay 12,000[20]  Australia 10,000[10]  Haiti 5,198[13]  Guyana 5,123[21]  Guatemala 5,000[22]  Ireland 5,000[10]  Bolivia 4,000[23]   Switzerland 3,989[13]  Netherlands 3,878[13]  Aruba 3,399 [13]  United Arab Emirates 2,500[10]  New Zealand 2,000[10]  Norway 1,607[13]  Sweden 1,498[13]  Greece 1,026[13]  Japan 1,000[24]  Saudi Arabia 1,000[10]  Austria 915[13]  Denmark 706[13]  El Salvador 700[25]  Belgium 570[13]  Israel 373[13]  Botswana 305[13]  Honduras 200[26]
Cause	Social issues, political repression, crime, economic downturn, corruption, censorship and others.[27][28][29]

History

19th century

Further information: Antisemitism in Venezuela

In 1827, a group of Jews moved from Curaçao and settled in Coro, Venezuela.[30] In 1855, rioting in the area forced the entire Jewish population, 168 individuals, back to Curaçao.[30] Assimilation of Jews in Venezuela was difficult, though small communities could be found in Puerto Cabello, Villa de Cura, Carupano, Rio Chico, Maracaibo, and Barquisimeto.[30]

20th century

During World War II, the Venezuelan government broke relations with the Axis powers in 1942, with many groups consisting of hundreds of German-Venezuelans leaving Venezuela to be repatriated into Nazi Germany.[31]

In the early 1980s, Venezuela had invested much into the country's infrastructure and communications, though by the mid-1980s when Venezuela faced economic difficulties and inequality increased, some Venezuelans emigrated.[32] Again, at the peak of Venezuela's socioeconomic difficulties in the late 1990s, Venezuelans began to emigrate once more, with some attempting to enter the United States legally and illegally.[33]

21st century

Bolivarian diaspora

Following the Bolivarian Revolution, many Venezuelans have sought residence in other countries. According to Newsweek, the "Bolivarian diaspora is a reversal of fortune on a massive scale" where the reversal is a comparison to when in the 20th century, "Venezuela was a haven for immigrants fleeing Old World repression and intolerance".[28] El Universal explains how the "Bolivarian diaspora" in Venezuela has been caused by the "deterioration of both the economy and the social fabric, rampant crime, uncertainty and lack of hope for a change in leadership in the near future".[27]

In 1998, the year Chavez was first elected, only 14 Venezuelans were granted U.S. asylum. In just 12 months in September 1999, 1,086 Venezuelans were granted asylum according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.[34] It has been calculated that from 1998 to 2013, over 1.5 million Venezuelans, between 4% and 6% of the Venezuela's total population, left the country following the Bolivarian Revolution.[35] Many former Venezuelan citizens studied gave reasons for leaving Venezuela that included lack of freedom, high levels of insecurity and inadequate opportunity in the country.[35][36] It has also been stated that some parents in Venezuela encourage their children to leave the country for their own protection because of the insecurities Venezuelans face.[36][37] This has led to human capital flight occurring in Venezuela.[27][35][38]

See also

• List of diasporas

References

1. "Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro survives 2019 despite U.S. insistence he'd fall". Axios. Retrieved 20 December 2019. We have more than 1.7 million refugees, that’s the official number and I think it’s under-reported. Bogota has 375,000 — that’s like the size of New Orleans
2. Leon, Adriana (19 October 2017). "Driven by unrest and violence, Venezuelans are fleeing their country by the thousands". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
3. "Venezolanos en Perú: Migración se redujo en más de 90% en julio, según Migraciones". Perú.21 (in Spanish). 14 August 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
4. "Brazil recalls diplomats, officials from Venezuela". Al Jazeera. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
5. "UNHCR welcomes Brazil's decision to recognize thousands of Venezuelans as refugees". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. United Nations. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
6. Eluniversal.com
7. "Cómo los venezolanos se están convirtiendo en el chivo expiatorio por las protestas en Sudamérica". BBC News. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
8. Arostegui, Martin (18 February 2018). "Spain Has Pivotal Role in Pressuring Venezuela's Maduro". Voice of America. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
9. "Refugees and migrants from Venezuela top 4 million: UNHCR and IOM". UNHCR. UNHCR, IOM. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
10. Últimas Noticias (2014), Venezolanos en el exterior
11. "El desgarrador éxodo de los venezolanos, en números". Infobae (in Spanish). 3 September 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
12. ""Más de 90 mil venezolanos ingresaron a RD por diferentes aeropuertos en 2019". Listin Diario. Retrieved 17 January 2020.
13. "United Nations Population Division: Department of Economic and Social Affairs". United Nations Population Division. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
14. "¿ Cuántos venezolanos hay en Canadá y en Québec?". Archived from the original on 2007-11-21. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
15. "REPORTE DE FLUJOS MIGRATORIOS EN CENTROAMÉRICA, NORTEAMÉRICA Y EL CARIBE" (PDF). International Organization for Migration. June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
16. "Venezolanos en Paraguay: Hay 828 con radicación y 58 piden refugio". Última Hora (in Spanish). 15 January 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
17. Ebus, Bram (13 November 2018). "Venezuelan migrants live in shadows on Caribbean's sunshine islands". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
18. "En 2019 crecerá un 30% la llegada de venezolanos". El País (in Spanish). 20 December 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
19. "As crisis deepens, more Venezuelans are emigrating to Lebanon".
20. "En 2019 crecerá un 30% la llegada de venezolanos". El País (in Spanish). 20 December 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
21. "Over 5000 Venezuelan migrants in Guyana". Guyana Times. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
22. "Guatemala exigirá visa a los migrantes venezolanos". El Nacional (in Spanish). 19 March 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
23. "Más de 4 mil venezolanos llegaron a Bolivia en 2018, el doble que en 2017". Los Tiempos (in Spanish). 15 February 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
24. Approximate of Venezuelans living in Japan
25. "Venezolanos en El Salvador respaldan a Juan Guaidó y exigen la salida de Maduro". EFE (in Spanish). 30 April 2019. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
26. "Venezolanos residentes en Honduras piden a sus compatriotas no dejar la lucha". La Prensa (in Spanish). 23 January 2019.
27. Olivares, Francisco (13 September 2014). "Best and brightest for export". El Universal. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
28. "Hugo Chavez is Scaring Away Talent". Newsweek. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 24 September 2014.
29. "Ten percent of Venezuelans are taking steps for emigrating". El Universal. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
30. Krusch, David. "The Virtual Jewish World: Venezuela". Jewish Virtual Library. American–Israeli Cooperative Enterprise. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
31. "More Germans Quit Venezuela: Page 22". The New York Times. 27 December 1942.
32. Jones, Richard C (April 1982). "Regional Income Inequalities and Government Investment in Venezuela". Regional Income Inequalities and the Journal of Developing Areas. 16 (3): 373.
33. Paulin, David (6 April 1997). "Venezulans in US fleeing poverty: Rising crime, inflation spur emigration: A, 10:3". The Boston Globe.
34. Brown, Tom (16 July 2007). "Venezuelans, fleeing Chavez, seek U.S. safety net". Reuters. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
35. Maria Delgado, Antonio (28 August 2014). "Venezuela agobiada por la fuga masiva de cerebros". El Nuevo Herald. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
36. "El 90% de los venezolanos que se van tienen formación universitaria". El Impulso. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
37. Montilla K., Andrea (4 July 2014). "Liceístas pasan de grado sin cursar varias materias". El Nacional. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
38. "Venezuela, migraciones y desplazamientos humanos". 23 May 2003.

External links