About 50% of Columbia's workers work in the so-called "informal economy", working for themselves, often selling things on the streets. That has people in Columbia worried about whether their country's economy will be able to absorb the influx of people fleeing the chaos in neighboring Venezuela.
Brazil Sending Troops to their Border with Venezuela Brazil sends troops after clashes at Venezuela border August 2018 Brazil will send troops to its border with Venezuela on Monday after residents of the Brazilian border town of Pacaraima drove out Venezuelan immigrants from their improvised camps, amid growing regional tensions. Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have crossed the border into Brazil over the past three years as they seek to escape the economic, political and social crisis gripping their country. The latest show of tensions began early Saturday, hours after a local merchant was robbed and severely beaten in an incident blamed on Venezuelan suspects, in Pacaraima, where an estimated 1,000 immigrants are living on the street. Dozens of locals then attacked the two main immigrant makeshift camps and burned their belongings, leading Venezuelans to cross the border back into their home country. Shots were fired, stores were shuttered and debris littered the streets. "It was terrible, they burned the tents and everything that was inside," said Carol Marcano, a Venezuelan who works in Boa Vista and was on the border returning from Venezuela. "There were shots, they burned rubber tires." Marcano said that some Venezuelans reacted to the attack by destroying a car with Brazilian license plates. She and her companions were among many who took refuge at checkpoints on the Venezuelan side of the border. Brazilian federal police, in charge of immigration, estimates that about 500 Venezuelans cross over to Brazil every day. In January alone, around 900 and 1,200 Venezuelans came to Brazil - a peak so far. In the first semester of this year, around 56,740 Venezuelans sought to legalize their situation in Brazil requesting refuge or temporary residence. https://www.france24.com/en/20180819-brazil-sends-troops-after-clashes-venezuela-border Colombia will tighten control of over its porous border with Venezuela as thousands of migrants flee a rapidly deteriorating political and economic crisis. In a visit to a border city at the epicenter of Colombia's mounting migration crisis, President Juan Manuel Santos on Thursday announced new measures that could make it more difficult for Venezuelan migrants to cross into the country illegally or remain there without any official status. "Colombia has never lived a situation like the one we are encountering today," Santos said. Colombia migration authorities say there are an estimated 600,000 Venezuelans currently in Colombia - double the number six months ago. https://www.france24.com/en/20180210-colombia-border-venezuela-migrants-surge Venezuelans flee to Colombia to escape economic meltdown The Simon Bolivar bridge has become symbolic of the mass exodus of migrants from Venezuela. The crossing is also just one piece in the complex puzzle facing Colombia, as it struggles to absorb the increasing number of migrants prompted by its neighbor's economic and social meltdown. Up to 45,000 migrants cross on foot from Venezuela to Cúcuta every day. The Colombian city has become the last hope for many fleeing Venezuela’s crumbling economy. Already four million people, out of a population of 30 million, have fled Venezuela due to chronic shortages of food and medicine. http://www.euronews.com/2018/03/26/colombia-s-venezuelan-migrant-influx People Fleeing Socialist Venezuela Shocked When Asked for Passports https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/p...aign=dailyam&utm_content=conservative-tribune
