Scholars of Excellence Workshop – Complex migration pathways: South and Central America as a transit space

South and Central American migrations used to develop within the broader region of Latin America as well as in a north-south direction towards the United States. The twenty-first century, though, has brought about an important diversification of routes, and added complexity to the migration drivers. While intra-regional and north- to-south migration pressures have continued, there have been new global pathways involving people from Sub Saharan Africa and South Asia transiting from the region, mostly aiming to reach the United States and Canada. In addition, the region has been characterized by significant population flows out of Venezuela, a country that was formerly an important destination within the region. These more long-term structural patterns have been further compounded by the long-term effects of the financial crisis in 2010 and by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. State responses have varied and, although overall relatively welcoming for Venezuelans, they have also been characterized by rising xenophobia and racism, as well as the side effects of the U.S.’s externalization of its border controls towards Mexico and further south.

This workshop looked at the complex (and at time circular) migration dynamics in the broader South and Central America region involving people with mixed (humanitarian and economic) motivations from a variety of countries, notably Haiti, Dominica, various countries of Sub Saharan Africa, as well as Peru, Ecuador, Chile and Colombia. Participants analyzed the motivations and drivers of such migrations as well as in the responses of states and civil society actors. The discussion linked the regional realities to also global analytical perspectives as to how migration governance is shaping up in the post-pandemic world.