Gov’t: Resettling of Venezuelans in Brazil to continue indefinitely

The process of resettling Venezuelan immigrants in Brazil will be permanent. The information was unveiled early this week by the president’s Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha after he hosted in Brasília 50 Venezuelans transferred from Boa Vista, capital of Roraima, a state in the Brazilian Amazon.

“The resettlement efforts are ongoing because the entry [of immigrants] has been ongoing in Roraima, a state that cannot manage to receive the incoming Venezuelans,” Padilha said.

Brazilian authorities welcome Venezuelan immigrants at an Aldeias Infantis SOS shelter, in Brasília – Fabio Rodrigues Pozzebom / Agência Brasil

The shelters in Roraima can house 6 thousand people, he reported, “so we have to relocate those who exceed the 6 thousand.”

Integration

Padilha went on to announce that an average of 30 percent of Venezuelan immigrants that have been sent to other states in the country “have been integrated, sought some productive activity, and are working for their families and no longer have to rely on the shelters.”

The Brazilian government has no dedicated initiative on employment for Venezuelans, Padilha added, but the fact that many of them hold a university degree has facilitated their introduction into the labor market.

From April to July this year, 690 Venezuelans who applied for refugee status or residence permit in Brazil were relocated to other states from Roraima, which shares national borders with Venezuela.

Nearly 57 thousand Venezuelans were reported late in June in Roraima, among them residents and refuge applicants.