By Jackeline López Vértiz, ESAN University
In recent times, Peru has been facing an alarming Venezuelan immigration situation. As we know well, Venezuela is going through a hard political situation right now because of the dictatorship with which it is being governed and the consequences of the bad decisions of its president himself. So many Venezuelans have been forced to immigrate to other countries to fight the shortages with which the country currently lives with in terms of food, medicine, security, jobs, etc. Peru is one of the countries that has received the most Venezuelans since 2016, going from 6615 to 864,214 Venezuelans in that same year; however, every day the figures of Venezuelans coming into the country increases. For Peru, this is the biggest wave of immigration that has crossed into our borders in the 21st century. Likewise, Peru is the country with the second largest number of Venezuelan immigrants.
The place where most immigrants have come and become strongest is mainly the capital of Peru, Metropolitan Lima, where 84% of Venezuelan immigrants are concentrated. They are also located in the main provinces of the 3 regions of Peru. On the coast, they are in cities such as Trujillo, Piura, Chiclayo and Chimbote; in the Amazon region, they are in places such as Puerto Maldonado, Moyobamba and Iquitos and in the Andes Mountains, they have settled in places like Huancayo, Huánuco and Arequipa. Currently, until mid-July of this year, more than 850,000 Venezuelan immigrants have been recorded as settling in Peru on a permanent basis.
As I mentioned earlier, it is considered an alarming immigration, since from the beginning there were no precautions for the entry of so many Venezuelans to Peru, and, since there was not a correct entry process, many Venezuelans, even with criminal records back in Venezuela, have entered, and that has also increased the crime rate in the Peru. In turn, many Venezuelan immigrants have not found stable jobs, so they offer their labor at a price well below normal, making many companies or employers prefer to pay a Venezuelan less for the same job instead of paying a Peruvian the minimum wage that by law corresponds to him. Many of the Venezuelans finding no job opportunities have found themselves in need of illegal work on the streets offering commercial products or food products from their country. In a survey of residents in Lima this year, 67% disapprove of the immigration of Venezuelan citizens to Peru, and only 23% consider this immigration positive. The first percentage is because Venezuelan immigration has increased crime and criminal activities, as well as because there are more and more people willing to work at a lower price, which affects the jobs of Peruvians. This percentage is not only a simple perception, but according to the Minister of Labor and Employment Promotion in Peru, Sylvia Cáceres, the presence of Venezuelans in Peru does affect the Peruvian labor market.
Turning now to personal experiences or perspectives, it has not particularly affected me directly. I do not consider myself xenophobic, and I am very aware that when we Peruvians go through difficult political and financial situations, we also migrate to other countries, so that is not the problem, really. Also, of the few personal experiences that I have had in which I have met Venezuelans, it has been for some service that they offer, such as delivery or food sales, and the majority of these experiences have been positive. I think that they are integrating into Peruvian society better all the time and that we are one their side. I am surprised by the good spirit and attitude of many. Of course it is not the same for everyone, but in general, I personally have no problem with them. I think what is being formed today in Peru is like an interculturality between Venezuela and Peru.
However, I believe that I cannot ignore the current situation, either, because I know people who are very close, such as family members or friends, who have been directly affected by this immigration either at work or in their daily lives through a criminal act in which one or more of the criminals were Venezuelans. A few days ago, my aunt was removed from a job where she had been working for 4 years in a row. The reason she was told that she was fired is that they found a replacement who would be paid a lower salary, so the company preferred that other person. This is not the only case: this happens every day. On the other hand, recently, a classmate from my university was robbed of his cell phone by two Venezuelan citizens when he was on his way to the university. He was also beaten, and cases like these can be heard every day. However, we cannot generalize, and many Venezuelans are very friendly, respectful and eager to work and get ahead, and of course the situation they are going through as a country makes the situation for them more and more complicated. In the same way, I am not against immigration to my country, but I think that the government should take greater care and regulate the permits that are being granted for the entry of Venezuelan citizens, because it is not bad to help people from other countries, above all in times of crisis, but it is not good that finally others are affected by simply not having the proper care and security in the regularization of income to Peru.
