• Crisis: The despair of the Venezuelan exodus at the gates of Chile: "We beg you, let us in!"
  • Exodus: The Venezuelan diaspora overcomes the barrier of four million emigrants

A dangerous wave of xenophobia runs through the South American region after the massive arrival of Venezuelans fleeing the revolutionary collapse. The penultimate chapter was lived this week in Peru, when a group of angry neighbors tried to assault the Casa Blanca Lodge in the Lima district of Ate. Inside, 25 frightened Venezuelans resisted until the Peruvian police intervened to bring peace.

"They attempted stones, sticks and bottles against their physical integrity, including pregnant women and innocent children," the Venezuelan embassy in Peru denounced in a statement. The Government of Martín Vizcarra recognizes the president in charge, Juan Guaidó, who appointed his ambassador to the Andean country. The Venezuelans were evicted, although they had the documents in order and had not provoked any previous altercation.

"We cannot fail to see with concern these focused but latent events, which cloud the solidarity image of the great majority of citizens of Peru and make a dent in the already difficult situation of our migrants," the statement concluded.

Peru and Ecuador, and to a lesser extent Brazil, accumulate several similar incidents, even with the participation of local politicians. A neighborhood assembly in Cuzco approved last month the expulsion of Venezuelans from its municipality . The Ombudsman immediately admonished the assembly members, also the mayor who insulted ("they are lampen") to the Creoles.

During the indigenous uprising in Ecuador, community leaders accused Lenín Moreno's government of diverting gasoline resources to pay for Venezuelan food cards. "The pack is carried out because this government wants to keep those Venezuelan pinches ," one of the leaders hailed in Imbabura during the protests, throws in hand, in a huge fake : that food aid for emigrants is provided by the Food Program of the UN and American NGOs.

The 20-year-old Venezuelan young man who was savagely beaten was useless when he left the Gran Aki supermarket in Cuenca, precisely after using the card. "We have verified how the xenophobic threats have grown during the protests, even with that repeated cry of" Down, Lenin; Out Venezuelans! You are fleeing from Venezuela, but the ghost haunts us here. Chavez's cancer is killing us on the continent, "complained in unison José Atacho and Julio González, two of the leaders of the Venezuelan associations in Quito.

Unofficial figures trigger the number of emigrants in both Peru (1 million) and Ecuador (400,000), but the prospects are much greater. The UN fears that by the end of 2020 there will be 6 and a half million Venezuelans who make up the great diaspora, unprecedented in the history of the continent. David Smolanki , in charge of the immigration crisis by the Organization of American States (OAS), raises that number to eight million.

The chilling chases this year throws in areas of Ecuador and Peru have already triggered all the alarms. The xenophobic minority has even made a foray into the world of music, with an ode against the 'venecas' (derogatory gentilicio) created by the Son De Tambito group. The complaint is that migrants snatch husbands from local women.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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  • Peru
  • Ecuador
  • Venezuela
  • immigration

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