Over half of Venezuelans who entered Brazil have left
Over half of the 127.7 thousand Venezuelan immigrants that came to the country in Brazil last year and this year through the northern state of Roraima, on the border with Venezuela, have left the country. Of the 68.9 thousand who left, the majority (47.8 thousand) went out of Brazil by land, and 21.1 thousand by plane.
The figures were disclosed Monday (Jul. 16) at the 5th Meeting of the Federal Emergency Assistance Committee, held at the Planalto presidential palace, seat of the Brazilian government.
Of the Venezuelans who left the country by land, 66% left Brazil via Roraima; 15% via Foz do Iguaçu, in the southern state of Paraná; 6% through Rondônia state; 6% through Rio Grande do Sul; 7% through other places.
As for air routes, the Airport of Guarulhos, São Paulo, was chosen by 58% of Venezuelans, Manaus by 15%, Brasília by 13%, and Rio de Janeiro by 11%.
Assistance and resettlement
From 2015 to June this year, over 56 thousand Venezuelans resorted to Brazil’s Federal Police for assistance, refugee status (35.5 thousand) or a residence permit (11.1 thousand). Also, 10.1 thousand scheduled appointments for assistance, 5.9 thousand of whom did not show up.
Altogether, some 4 thousand Venezuelans are settled in Roraima, a state in the Brazilian Amazon forest. Last April, the Brazilian government started relocation efforts in Roraima to have immigrants move to other states.
Thus far, 690 people have been taken to other cities across Brazil, such as São Paulo, Manaus, Cuiabá, Rio de Janeiro, Igarassu, and Conde. Nine new resettlement trips are expected to be made with Venezuelan immigrants, bound for Brasília, Cuiabá, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.
