Exploring the new North of the South? A qualitative study of Venezuelans migrating to Chile since 2013 and the push and pull factors influencing South-South Migration in Latin America

Abstract: With the wide-ranging crisis in Venezuela exacerbating since 2014 and Chile consolidating its leading economic position within Latin America, the number of Venezuelan immigrants in Chile has significantly grown. This paper aims to understand the push and pull factors of Venezuelans migrating to Chile and their perceived integration. The broader purpose is to better understand the push and pull factors influencing South-South migration, specifically within Latin America. The research design took the form of a qualitative case study and the primary data was collected in 2017 in Santiago de Chile, consisting of nineteen interviews with Venezuelan immigrants from different sectors and two expert interviews. The subsequent transcription and thematic coding of the interviews on NVivo helped quantify and analyze some of the findings. Insecurity, inflation and economic instability represented the main push factors for the respondents to leave Venezuela. Chile’s economic stability, legal facilities and employment opportunities were their main pull factors. Chile’s advanced regional position, cultural/linguistic proximity, security levels, stability and opportunities for immigrants contributed to their decision to stay within Latin America. With the ‘North’ increasingly closing its borders and intraregional migration growing, Chile appears to be perceived as the ‘new North’ of the South in Latin America.