Panel: Liberal and Restrictive Forced Displacement Policies in Latin America: Explaining Variations in Responses to the Venezuelan Exodus

Abstract

The ongoing crisis in Venezuela has triggered a large-scale exodus, compelling over 7.7 million individuals to flee, with approximately 6.5 million staying within Latin America. Notably, the responses of these countries have exhibited significant divergence, evolving over time, and differing across key recipients. While Chile has maintained a restrictive stance from almost the onset of the exodus, Ecuador and Peru have shifted from initial openness to imposing restrictions. In contrast, Colombia and Brazil have been relatively receptive, offering temporary permits or granting refugee status to Venezuelan migrants.

This panel aims to systematically account for the observed variation in responses across time and countries within Latin America. It explores the determinants shaping the different nature of forced displacement policies, including factors such as domestic politics, foreign affairs, and institutional logics. By doing so, it contributes valuable insights from the Latin American context to the existing literature on the determinants of forced displacement policies, traditionally focused on Northern countries and, more recently, on the Middle East.

The presentations focus on Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador, Andean countries that have received the major flows of Venezuelans in the case of Colombia and Peru (2.9 million and 1.5 million). By using qualitative methods as ethnography, grounded theory, and content analysis of emerging literature, official documents and interviews with policy makers, experts, migrants’ and refugees´ advocates, and forced migrants and refugees, the panel aims to highlight the innovations and shortcomings of the region regarding forced migrants´ access to rights in a global perspective.

in-person or hybrid will be announced