Hundreds of migrants entered in the last hours irregularly in Chile across the border with Bolivia days following a new immigration law came into force that has sparked controversy in the country and some confusion among the security forces that monitor the roads of the altiplano.
Witnesses in the border town of Colchane assured Efe that the passage accelerated as Wednesday followingnoon fell and lasted into the night, taking advantage of “a low number of police and military patrols” in a wild and extensive area, whipped by the cold. and Andean winds.
The migration crisis, which has been going on for a year, has worsened in recent days in the north of Chilewhere the increase in crime and xenophobia have created an explosive mix that has sparked popular protests and violent incidents between the local population and migrants.
One of the most serious occurred last weekend following several organized groups of truckers blocked the main access roads to the airport and the city of Iquique, near the border, in protest at the death of a colleague in a confusing incident in which two Venezuelan citizens were involved.
The virulence of the mobilization forced the outgoing government of Sebastián Piñera to intervene, who was on vacation and who decreed a state of emergency that came into force hours ago.
This state of border emergency, which will rule in four provinces that border Peru and Bolivia without considering their urban centers (Arica and Parinacota, in the Arica Region, and Parinacota, Tamarugal Province in the Tarapacá Region and in the El Loa in the Antofagasta Region) will last fifteen days, with the possibility of being renewed by Congress.
According to official data, in the last year more than 20 immigrants have died trying to cross the harsh plateau to the town of Colchane, the first town in Chilean territory. The last of them was found this Wednesday, a 32-year-old man of Colombian origin.
These dangerous steps, which reach high temperatures during the day to drop below zero degrees at night, continue to form the main irregular entry route to Chile, which despite the pandemic and the social crisis of 2019 continues to be one of the most attractive to migrate within Latin America due to its political and economic stability.
In total there are 1.4 million migrants in the Latin American country, which is equivalent to more than 7% of the population, and Venezuelans are the most numerous, followed by Peruvians, Haitians and Colombians.
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