To contribute to the Venezuelan narrative, the government wants to give less prominence to Operation Acolhida

Operação Acolhida, which receives refugees from the Venezuelan dictatorship, has played an increasingly less prominent role in the first year of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s (PT) term. Sources linked to the operation reported that the president’s special advisor for international affairs, Celso Amorim, had asked for “discretion” regarding the operation, which has already received more than 112,000 Venezuelans who have fled extreme poverty, hunger and political persecution in their country. .

The idea is not to embarrass the government of dictator Nicolás Maduro, one of Lula’s main allies in Latin America. The Brazilian president has already relativized the tyranny of the neighboring country by calling the political persecution, arrests and murders of opponents carried out by the Venezuelan communist dictatorship a “narrative”.

There have been no posts on X (formerly Twitter) since March this year. Not even official government pages have updated information about the program on their social media accounts. An advanced search for the accounts of Itamaraty, the Civil House (responsible for coordinating the project), Secom and the Federal Government on the platform show a discrepancy in publications about the program between the governments of Lula and former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) .

A survey carried out by the report shows, for example, that the Brazilian Army’s Twitter account did not make any posts about the operation in the last ten months. Last year during the same period, 15 posts were made. Still on Twitter, the Ministry of Defense’s profile made only two posts about the project, the last being dated May — in the same period in 2022, there are records of ten publications.

In President Lula’s profile, Operation Acolhida has never been mentioned since he took office as president in January. This year alone, former president Jair Bolsonaro released data on the operation four times. Between January and October 2022, the former president made two tweets about the action in your personal account.

Government pages have prioritized programs from the current administration and do not mention Acolhida

Browsing the Instagram of official government bodies, it is also noticeable that there is little space for Operação Acolhida. In the profile of the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, Family and Combating Hunger, which is currently responsible for updating the operation data on its website, there are only two publications mentioning the project. Social programs such as Bolsa Família and Minha Casa, Minha Vida have dozens of posts.

Between January and October, for example, the Ministry of Development’s Instagram had at least 35 posts aimed at Bolsa Família, in addition to 48 posts on Twitter mentioning the program. The same organization, in the last ten months, made only one post about Operação Acolhida on its Twitter profile.

Lula never mentioned the project that helps Venezuelan refugees in Brazil, but he has already made 43 posts about Bolsa Família on his Twitter page. Something similar is observed on the page of the Federal Government’s Communications Secretary: at least 50 posts mentioning Bolsa Família on Twitter and none about Operação Acolhida in the last ten months.

When questioned by the report, the Civil House explained that the Operation’s Twitter update is suspended “for reasons of sector reorganization”, but that “all information is being published on the Instagram profile”. The ministry also reported that the project’s networks are updated by FT Logística Humanitária, a military component of the Brazilian Army.

The intention, however, as revealed by sources Gazette of the people, is to give less visibility to the number of people who have fled Venezuela. Presided over by dictator Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan government is accused of crimes against human rights, taking political prisoners and even torturing opponents. To escape the crisis in Venezuela, thousands of people cross the country’s border towards Brazil in order to have access to basic living conditions.

Crisis in Venezuela resulted in more than 7 million refugees

Information from the Immigration Portal, under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, shows that the number of Venezuelans who migrated to Brazil changed little this year compared to last year. In August of this year alone, 2,869 Venezuelans requested recognition of their refugee status in Brazil, reported OBMigra.

Those born in Venezuela are still those who most seek asylum in Brazil. In total, 5,106 immigration requests were registered by the International Migration Observatory (OBMigra) in August – more than half are Venezuelans.

According to the United Nations (UN), the total number of Venezuelan refugees who left the country for different nations is approximately 7 million. The country has around 30 million inhabitants.

In addition to political violence, the wave of immigration is caused by hunger, hyperinflation and high crime and mortality rates.

The Brazilian president even tried to come to the defense of the Venezuelan dictator saying that the country has “more elections than in Brazil”. The Venezuelan dictator, however, is accused of manipulating the presidential elections so as not to leave the position of president, which he has held for more than ten years.

USA and Venezuela reached an agreement that could alleviate the Venezuelan economy

In October, the United States reached a deal with Maduro to begin easing economic sanctions against Venezuela in exchange for the president’s commitment to holding free elections in 2024.

Washington has been considering removing economic sanctions against the country to try to alleviate global pressure on the price of oil. The market has been under pressure since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022 and oil from Vladimir Putin’s country stopped being purchased by several Western nations.

Joe Biden called for an end to the disqualifications of politicians and the release of “political prisoners”. American companies have already received authorization to resume oil exploration in the country. The agreement also had diplomatic support from Brazil.

Lula’s special affairs advisor, Celso Amorim, was sent to Venezuela and held meetings with Maduro and his opponents. The idea was that the Venezuelan dictator could reach a consensus on the elections so that the agreement with the USA could be reached. The Brazilian president celebrated the pause in embargoes on the neighboring country.

“I welcomed the news that the US government has lifted sanctions against Venezuela, after the Venezuelan government and opposition signed an agreement for fair elections next year. Unilateral sanctions harm the population of affected countries and hinder mediation and conflict resolution processes,” said Lula.

In an announcement made by the North American giant, the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, said that it was agreed that Venezuela must “define a specific calendar and process for the accelerated qualification of all candidates” by the end of September. Furthermore, Blinken stated that everyone who “desires to run should have the opportunity and the right to equal electoral conditions, freedom of movement and guarantees for their physical safety.” In case of non-compliance by the Venezuelan government, the US will reverse the plan to suspend sanctions.

Operation Acolhida helped 100,000 Venezuelans who arrived in Brazil

Created in 2017, during the government of then president Michel Temer (MDB), Operation Acolhida was born with the intention of dealing with a large wave of Venezuelan immigrants that could destabilize regions of Brazil. Due to the economic and political crisis in the country, hundreds of people cross the Venezuelan border every day towards Brazil in search of better life opportunities.

In some cases, there are heads of families who come to Brazil leaving their relatives in Venezuela, but the plan is to bring the rest of the family after they settle down. Upon arrival, these Venezuelan families receive support from Operação Acolhida and are sent to live with a relative already established in Brazilian territory. This process, however, can take months and these families spend long periods apart. But, for most of them, this time away could be worth it, as the reunion is synonymous with a better and more comfortable life away from the Venezuelan dictatorship.

The migration crisis in Venezuela is a reflection of the lack of opportunities under Maduro’s government. Without employment, without access to healthcare or basic living conditions, such as food, the majority of Venezuelans are registered in a condition of social vulnerability.

Furthermore, when coming to Brazil, some of these refugees report the desire to escape the oppression imposed by the Venezuelan dictatorship, which is accused of arresting, persecuting and torturing those who oppose the Maduro regime. On Brazilian soil, these immigrants seek medical care, social assistance and access to income transfer programs, such as Bolsa Família.

The focus of emergency assistance to Acolhida refugees is Roraima, a state that borders Venezuela. Venezuelans are received in the cities of Boa Vista and Pacaraima, municipalities that concentrate the flow of immigrants.

The program relocates refugees to other regions of Brazil with the intention of offering them “social, economic and cultural integration”, as reported on the website itself.

After crossing the border, refugees have access to basic health and food assistance, are registered and have documents issued by the Brazilian government. At the end of this first contact, everyone is directed to emergency shelters in Roraima.

From Roraima, these immigrants are taken to other regions of the country: cities with job opportunities or to places where friends and family have already relocated. In some cases, the referral is made to regions where Venezuelan immigrants will be able to work almost immediately. All of these processes are assisted by the Federal Government. Through the participation of civil society and companies, immigrants also have access to preparatory, training and professional courses.

Since the beginning of Acolhida, approximately 112 thousand Venezuelans have gone through this process of internalization. The strategy of sending them to other regions of the country also aims to relieve the burden on the Brazilian North, which has seen its population support services overloaded due to the migration crisis in Venezuela.

The Brazilian cities that received the most immigrants were São Paulo (SP), Curitiba (PR), Chapecó (SC), Dourados (MS) and Manaus (AM). Furthermore, almost a thousand Brazilian cities were destinations for these immigrants.