Venezuelan Argentines

Venezuelan Argentines
Venezolano-argentinos (Spanish)
Argentina Venezuela
People born in Venezuela by province according to RENAPER in 2023
(Not including descendants of Venezuelans)
Total population
161,495 (by birth, 2022)[1]
272,000 (by ancestry, 2022)[2]
0.6% of the Argentine population
Regions with significant populations
Predominantly the Greater Buenos Aires,[3] Córdoba,[4] and Santa Fe[5][6]
Languages
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Related ethnic groups
Venezuelans
Venezuelan Uruguayans · Venezuelan Brazilians · Venezuelan Americans

Venezuelan Argentines (Spanish: venezolano-argentinos) are Argentine citizens of predominantly or total Venezuelan descent, or Venezuelan citizens who have migrated to and settled in Argentina. As of 2022, there are 272,000 Venezuelans living in Argentina,[7][2] most of whom migrated during the latter half of the 2010s as part of the Venezuelan refugee crisis.[3][8] The last census held in Argentina, in 2010, registered only 6,000 Venezuelan migrants living in the country.[9]

As of 2018, Venezuelans were the fourth-largest expat community in Argentina, behind Paraguayans, Bolivians and Chileans.[10] According to IOM figures, Argentina granted 170,223 residency permits to Venezuelan citizens alone from 2018 to 2020, nearly twice as many as to Paraguayan citizens.[11] This makes Venezuelans the fastest-growing expat community in the country.[12][13]

Characteristics

Venezuelans in Buenos Aires supporting students from their country.
Population pyramid of Venezuelan immigrants in 2022 (not including descendants).

The Venezuelan community in Argentina has grown considerably since 2015 due to a number of factors, most notably, the ongoing socioeconomic crisis experienced by the Caribbean country.[9] Despite the geographical distance between the two countries (there are 1920 miles between Venezuela's southernmost city and Argentina's northernmost), Argentina's lax migration laws have made the country a major destination for Venezuelans.[13][14]

According to a 2019 IOM report studying Venezuelan migrants in Buenos Aires, 80.4% of respondents had jobs at the time the study was conducted (August–September 2019): 55% as employees and 25.4% as independent workers; 15.6% were unemployed. Around 70% of the surveyed migrants counted with a monthly salary ranging between Argentina's mandated minimum wage and twice that amount. By business sector, 43% were active in commerce, 26% in transport (taxi cabs and mobility apps and services such as Uber), 6% in health, and 3% in IT. Nearly 71% of the surveyed migrants worked in the informal economy, while 29% worked in registered jobs.[15]

The Venezuelan diaspora in Argentina has been politically active, being overwhelmingly supportive for Argentina’s far-right president, elected in 2023, Javier Milei.[16]

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "Censo 2022". INDEC. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "R4V América Latina y el Caribe, Refugiados y Migrantes Venezolanos en la Región – Agosto 2021". R4V (in Spanish). 6 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b Martínez, Lucía (7 December 2018). "Radiografía de la inmigración venezolana en la Argentina". Chequeado (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  4. ^ Maldonado, Noelia (14 January 2019). "Venezolanos en Córdoba, ante el riesgo del trabajo precario". La Voz (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  5. ^ Figueroa, Juan Carlos (30 June 2015). "Quince mil venezolanos al exilio en Argentina". La Patilla (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Casi la mitad de los nuevos migrantes que recibió Argentina son venezolanos". 2 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Casi la mitad de los nuevos migrantes que recibió Argentina son venezolanos". 2 October 2022.
  8. ^ Frías, Carlos (14 January 2018). "La llegada de venezolanos creció 140% en 2017: entró 1 cada 20 minutos". Clarín (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Venezolanos/as en Argentina: un panorama dinámico (2014–2018)" (PDF). International Organization for Migration (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Informe sobre migraciones en Argentina" (PDF). Cámara Argentina de Comercio y Servicios (in Spanish). May 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Portal de Datos Migratorios en la Argentina". iom.int (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  12. ^ Cullen, Lucía (25 January 2019). "Por primera vez en la historia, en 2018 los venezolanos lideraron el ranking de inmigrantes que llegaron al país". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Argentina muda su política poblacional estimulada por la migración venezolana". EFE (in Spanish). 17 February 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Los emigrantes venezolanos, con problemas en cinco de los ocho países que más los acogen". Télam (in Spanish). 9 October 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  15. ^ Urien, Paula (2 October 2019). "Datos oficiales. Cuántos venezolanos tienen trabajo en la Argentina". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2021.
  16. ^ "Venezuelan immigrants are boosting right-wing candidates across the Americas, U.S." NBC News. 19 January 2024.
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