Simón (fictitious name) had a clear outlook: he had considered that if Edmundo González, the opposition candidate of Venezuela’s Unitary Platform, won, he would stay in Venezuela and would only leave the country to vacation, but if Nicolás Maduro won, he would emigrate without hesitation.
By Pableysa Ostos / lapatilla.1eye.us correspondent team
Three months ago he traveled to Pacaraima in Brazil, with the intention of getting his papers, “foreseeing what we are seeing in the migratory flow. I gave the address where I am going to arrive (in Brazil), so I am saving myself the queues that are there right now.”
He is referring to the long lines of Venezuelans that have formed in recent days at the “tents” processing points, located in Pacaraima. The videos have circulated through social networks, and a large influx of people can be seen in these makeshift processing stations.
???? | ÚLTIMA HORA
La frontera entre Venezuela y Brasil vive una situación crítica, con miles de venezolanos escapando del régimen de Nicolás Maduro en busca de un futuro mejor. Familias enteras, con niños y cargadas de pertenencias, forman largas filas para cruzar hacia Brasil,… pic.twitter.com/TuT3k1P8Lk
— UHN PLUS (@UHN_Plus) September 5, 2024
Simón lives in the state of Bolívar and his goal is to reach Florianópolis in Brazil by the end of the month. He is going by plane and had bought the ticket in mid-May. The ticket from Puerto Ordaz to Manaus cost 248 U.S. dollars (one way), and the ticket by GOL Aerolíneas, Manaus-Florianópolis cost him 235 U.S. dollars; in total he spent 483 dollars just on airfares.
“There (at Florianópolis) are some friends who are already established. I sold my car to pay for the trip,” Simón explained. “I am going alone, at first. I am going because of the situation in the country and because six more years of Maduro is a hard blow.”
In total, he carries with him about 1,500 dollars. “I have a son who is already abroad, in Argentina. I am the only one left in Venezuela and if Maduro won, I had already decided to leave the country permanently. I am leaving my apartment to a friend who takes care of apartments for Venezuelans who have left.”
Simón has a degree in Business Administration, but he was dedicated to commerce, specifically the sale of cattle.
Ticket prices
The lapatilla.1eye.us team spoke with a company that offers a transfer service to Pacaraima. They explain that the cost from Puerto Ordaz to the municipality of Roraima is 100 U.S. dollars, and by bus the fare is about 30 dollars. “There is more movement by bus, people are saving as much as they can and looking for economy. With my service the flow has maintained steady, but I have noticed that other agencies have a greater flow of passengers.”
“But honestly, nothing abysmal. In December, for example, the excess of passengers is clearly marked, we are short of drivers, and the cost tends to rise as well, because it is high season,” added the woman.
At the “Batalla de San Félix” passenger terminal, buses leave every day for Santa Elena de Uairén; it costs 30 dollars to get there; to Pacaraima, 40 dollars; if the destination is Boa Vista the fare is 70 dollars, and to Manaus, 120 U.S. dollars.
From the plains to Colombia and Brazil
During a tour of the Humberto Hernández passenger terminal, located in San Fernando, capital of Apure State, the increase in passengers to the border with Colombia and Brazil could be seen. Different reasons drive those who travel to these destinations: to sell products, access healthcare services, seek better job opportunities or emigrate permanently from the country, after the intensification of the political crisis following the presidential elections and the economic situation that has not improved in Venezuela.
The bus line managers, as well as the drivers of three bus lines consulted by lapatilla.1eye.us, assure that the public transportation units from San Fernando provide service to two destinations that connect with the Colombian border: San Cristóbal (Táchira) and El Amparo (Apure).
Those interviewed assure that at least 80% of the travelers leave the country permanently, while the rest are merchants who travel once a week to purchase merchandise.
They say that most passengers travel by night to their destinations in order to take advantage of the day. Mondays are the day with the highest traffic to these border areas, while the number of users decreases on weekends.
“Every day there is a bus to San Cristóbal, Táchira state, which usually leaves the San Fernando terminal full with 31 passengers at 7:00 pm and 10 people for the 10:30 pm shift. Today I only have 19 passengers for Guasdualito and it is only 3:19 pm on Saturday. The greatest circulation of passengers is generated towards that area. The only day that they leave with fewer passengers is on Sundays with 15 to 16 passengers; on Fridays and Saturdays more than 20 tickets are sold just for San Cristóbal,” said a person in charge of a transport line.
Another person in charge of ticket sales added that the buses travel full of passengers from San Fernando de Apure and return empty. “Every day only four to five passengers return out of the 30 to 31 users of each unit that leaves San Fernando for Guasdualito and San Cristóbal. Typically, each company offers two buses to Guasdualito and one to San Cristóbal, which would carry about 90 passengers a day. Before the election, only about 15 to 20 passengers left every day,” she said.
Exodus due to the crisis
María Suárez, a woman from Apure who leaves Venezuela every six months because of her sister’s health, asserts that currently the number of people who have left the country has increased, due to economic, political and social problems.
“I have seen the sad and painful increase in Venezuelan migration to Brazil, where there are many Venezuelan refugee brothers. I enter and leave the country to help my sister, who has been in Manaus in Brazil for four years and is waiting for a kidney transplant, which has become impossible in Venezuela, where nothing is as it used to be anymore. I miss my Venezuela of the past, that beautiful Venezuela that I aspire to see again, that flows (works, moves) and is beautiful again with my family united with good jobs and income, a productive country. I would like education and health to be the same as before,” said Suárez.
For about 8 years, a merchant of clothes, shoes and other personal products travels from Apure to Cúcuta (Colombia), every 10 to 15 days. He believes that Venezuelan migration has remained about the same, but predicts that if the situation in Venezuela does not change, the figures for Venezuelan migration will increase dramatically.
“In a bus with 30 passengers, half of them leave the country for Colombia, Peru, Ecuador or Chile. I do not want to leave Venezuela, because my entire family is here. If this does not change, half the country will leave Venezuela, because there is no life here, there is no future for the children. Every day more people work in this type of business, which is why profits are getting smaller and smaller, they (profits) have dropped between 30% and 40%,” he concluded.