The immigration crisis of Venezuela and the impact on the economies of South America
Introduction
Venezuela’s crisis has impacted many of South America’s economies. This crisis happens following corruption and the mismanagement of national resources by the last two Venezuelan governments, led by current President Nicolás Maduro and former president Hugo Chávez. The poor leadership of these presidents led to an unstoppable inflation that resulted. Due to the closure of these companies and the country’s inflation, many Venezuelans were left without jobs and with a currency that had no value. This leads to the increase in insecurity and violence in Venezuela because the population was desperate to find monetary resources to support their families. On the other hand, this also resulted in food decrease in food, lack of medicines and essential services. This had as an outcome the migration of more than 4 million Venezuelans to different countries throughout South America in search of better opportunities.
Colombia for being a neighboring country has not been exception and has received the greatest number of Venezuelan immigrants. BBC (2019) reported that “by the end of June, the number of Venezuelan migrants in Colombia already added 1.408.000 ”Thus heading the list of migrant receptors from this country. On the other hand, the DANE reported a 1% increase in the Colombian unemployment rate in 2019 compared to the subsequent year. Here we can show a correlation between both situations because thanks to the immigration of Venezuelans in Colombia, the economically active population rate increases that more people are looking for work in this country. However, although in Colombia the figures for the growth of the economy are very good, thanks to the large number of Venezuelan immigrants the unemployment rate triggers because an increase in the disproportionate population is presented to the increase in employment in Colombia.
This issue is of great relevance thanks to the fact that Venezuelan immigration has affected the economy of many countries, especially that of Colombia for being the largest migrant receiver. Because of this, Colombians are forced to compete many times with very low prices in salaries, with unfair negotiations and with a non -profitable labor market. This has impacted in many ways to the country’s labor sector, both to the informal market and the formal market, causing different types of negative consequences being the most relevant the increase in the unemployment rate in Colombia. On the other hand, this theme is of great interest to me because thanks to the fact that I live in Colombia I have managed to experience at the first instance the consequences that immigration crisis entails in my country. I have been able to observe how Venezuelans open companies offering very low prices for their customers. I have also seen how in informal hiring, people decide to hire a Venezuelan above a Colombian because this leads to the decrease in salaries that these people have to pay. For this reason, I consider this event of the utmost importance because I think that this event must be exposed in the eyes of Colombians so that together we are able to find a solution to this problem.
Hypothesis
I consider that the immigration crisis of Venezuela in Colombia has affected the Colombian labor market thanks to the high increase in the economically active population and the limited labor sector available in the country resulting in the increase in the Colombian unemployment rate. This is because I have observed how informal employment in Colombia has increased after the immigration of Venezuelans. This is because I have been able to appreciate more street vendors in different sectors of my city and I have noticed how the number of people has increased asking for monetary resources in the streets to be able to support their families.
As the Venezuelan immigration crisis has affected the labor market in Colombia
The vast majority of Venezuelan immigrants arrive in Colombia in search of better opportunities and this leads them to look for different types of jobs in the country. Fedesarrollo (2018) exposes the data where “at the national level, the participation rate of the Venezuelan migrant population is 72%” and as we had previously stipulated BBC (2019) reported that “by the end of June, the number of migrantsVenezuelans in Colombia already added 1.408.000 " . This means that approximately 1.008.000 Venezuelans are looking for jobs and competing with Colombians to get the position. Thanks to this we can show the large percentage with which the economically active population of Colombia has to compete. However, this is not the only inconvenience with which Colombians present themselves when looking for a job.
Thanks to the unfortunate situation in which Venezuelans arrive in Colombia, they are impatient and needed to find employment in the least possible amount of time. However, many of these immigrants do not arrive in Colombia with the necessary documentation to be able to work in this country which is the special permanence permit (PEP). Migration Colombia (2019) states that PEP permit only “has benefited more than 593 thousand Venezuelans.”This means that only 593.000 of 1.008.000 Venezuelans seeking work have the necessary documentation to work legally in Colombia. For this reason, Venezuelans are often forced to accept jobs with salaries below the minimum salary established and in non -decent conditions for a worker unlike the economically active population of Colombia, which would not accept a job under these conditions. This often leads to employers to prefer to give the position to a Venezuelan than a Colombian to save a percentage of the employee’s salary and make this work more time increasing their level and speed of result of result. However, problems for Colombians continue.
In the case of EPS in Colombia, these have also been severely affected thanks to the economic imbalance that has caused the immigration of Venezuelans to the country, as a result of that they come with a major disease load thanks to the lack of health centers inVenezuela. This is because the Ministry of Health (2015) raises in Law 1751 Article 14 the “Prohibition of the denial of services provision."This means that IPS are forced to serve all users who enter by emergencies even if they do not have monetary resources to suppress these expenses and the EPS are forced to pay these debts of Venezuelans thanks to this law. Thanks to the economic imbalance of the EPS these cannot pay the benefits of services to the IPS which, as a consequence of this, will be forced to reduce their personnel expenses to be able to sustain themselves in the market. Thus saying goodbye to a percentage of employees and increasing the unemployment rate in Colombia. For this reason, many Colombian businessmen opt for these alternatives to avoid falling into unwanted debts.
Continuing with this thread of ideas, Colombian businessmen, of the different sectors, are one of the economic agents who have most affected the immigration of Venezuelans to the country for different reasons. A reason is the fact that starts in the prices of the products with which the owners of Colombian companies have to compete because Venezuelans implement extremely low prices. After having interviewed an owner of a beauty salon, this man told me that “Venezuelans establish prices with which one as an entrepreneur I have impossible for them to compete."" While I offer a hand and feet pedicure service at 20.000COP, a Venezuelan offers these same services at 8.000COP with the difference that she performs this service in the client’s home.”This disproportion of prices offered by a Venezuelan unlike a largely amount of Colombian entrepreneurs thanks to their level of demand for the product decreases because customers can find the same service at a lower price. On the other hand, the simply decrease the price of the product for entrepreneurs returns their company in a business not profitable for them so they choose to reduce their percentage of personnel in order to compete with the standardized prices by Venezuelans and manage to keep their company inThe labor market. Thus resulting in the increase in the unemployment rate in Colombia. On the other hand, the fact of Venezuelans’ income to Colombia rises the unemployment rate.
Many of Venezuelan migrants arrive in Colombia without basic studies to contribute to the country’s economic development. Week magazine (2019) through a survey stated that “of migrants, 45 percent completed their high school studies."However, we had previously stated that 72% of Venezuelans who emigrate to Colombia arrive in search of a job in this country. This means that of those 72% only 45% is enabled to be a viable resource in the development of Colombia’s economy. This means that the remaining 27% by not having the necessary bases and not being able to meet the requirements or to be able to meet the needs of a company, are forced to decide between three options which are, to carry out an informal work orbe unemployed or resort to crime to be able to support this country. In the same way, all these options, although some more than another, are considered negative for Colombia’s economy and this fact leads to the increase in unemployment rate in this country.
Continuing with this line of thoughts, many of the Venezuelans who emigrate to Colombia due to despair to achieve monetary resources to be able to maintain and sustain themselves in this new country, resort to the regulation of illicit acts. Week magazine (2018) comments that “between January 1, 2017 and February 5, 2018, 1.869 captures of Venezuelans in flagrance."This shows us that a large number of Venezuelans opted for crime as a means to get money and manage to keep afloat. However, this has a negative impact for all Venezuelan immigrants. This is because many entrepreneurs do not want. For this reason, many of the Venezuelans will be denied the petition at a position thanks to this stereotype thus increasing the unemployment rate in Colombia.
conclusion
Thanks to the situations previously exposed in the document we can conclude that Venezuela’s immigration crisis has affected several of the economic agents of neighboring countries, specifically those of Colombia. Thanks to the increase in population for Venezuelan migration, the country has presented an increase in its unemployment rate for different reasons which are debts that Venezuelans bring to the country due to their needy state of health, the low prices against whichColombian entrepreneurs have to compete and how the economically active population of Colombia competes with Venezuelans who are willing to work more now and at a lower price. For these and another end of reasons we can show how the immigration crisis of Venezuela has economically affected Colombia and as a result it has increased the unemployment rate of this country.
References
- (@Angelbermudez), A B. (2019, July 29). How the Venezuelan migration crisis impacts on the economy of other Latin American countries – BBC News Mundo. Retrieved from https: // www.BBC.com/Mundo/News-America-Latina-49119834
- Hernandez, g. (n.d.). On the Colombian Migration page at:. Retrieved from http: // migracioncolombia.GOV.CO/INDEX.PHP/ES/PRESS/COMMUNICED/COMMUNICED-2019/MAY-2019/11331-MAS-DE-1-MILLON-260-MIL-VENEZOLANOS-SEN-ENCUENTIRAN-RADIdADOS-IN-THE-PAIS-DIRECTOR-DE-MIGRATION-Colombia?highlight = wyjwzxaixq
- Kurmanaev, p. A. (2019, May 17). Venezuela lives the worst economic crisis for a country without war, according to experts. Retrieved from https: // www.nytimes.com/es/2019/05/17/Venezuela-Crisis-Economia/?rref = collection/sectioncoltion/nyt-es & action = click & content
- Ramos, j. D. (n.d.). Great Integrated Household Survey (GHG) Labor Market. Retrieved from https: // www.Dane.GOV.CO/INDEX.PHP/STATISTICS-PORM
- United Refugees. (n.d.). Situation in Venezuela. Retrieved from https: // www.ACNUR.Org/Situation-in-Venezuela.HTML
- Week. (2018, February 06). Alert for increased Venezuelans in Colombian crime. Retrieved from https: // www.week.com/nacion/article/prosecutoria-alerta-por-aumento-de-venezolanos-in-the-collapse-colombiana/556251
- Week. (2019, March 10). Venezuelan migrants have the word. Retrieved from https: // www.week.com/nacion/article/la-first-instead-for-knowledge-who-and-and-live-the-venezuelan-q/604701
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