Just how bad is it in Socialist Venezuela? Besides the starvation of the Venezuelan people due to unaffordable inflation, and the government sitting on the largest oil reserves in the world while its people are persecuted by the same government, Venezuelans are attempting to leave the country they know as home.
The problem is that South America isn’t Europe, so some South American countries aren’t as “accepting” as those in the European Union (EU).
The Socialist-driven problems facing Venezuelans have forced a large number of people to migrate and seek asylum in neighboring countries. However, the country of Ecuador has essentially closed its doors to Venezuelan migrants who attempt to enter their country without a passport, according to the BBC.
Colombia sits between Venezuela and Ecuador, so a portion of Venezuelans are trying to pass from Colombia into Ecuador without passports. Some are successful despite the Ecuadorians best efforts.
Reuters reported:
Dozens of furious Venezuelan migrants fleeing economic misery in Venezuela for a new life elsewhere on Sunday defied rules requiring they hold a valid passport to cross the border from Colombia into Ecuador, and authorities appeared to be allowing it.
Hundreds of desperate people who traveled days from Venezuela, mostly by bus but some on foot, were prevented from passing the checkpoint near the southwestern town of Ipiales by a regulation set by Ecuador’s President Lenin Moreno that kicked in on Saturday.
There are two ways one could look at this situation.
The first way is the humanitarian way. The BBC reported that “most are heading south to join family members in Peru and Chile, so if the migrants are just passing through, why not let them?
The second way to look at this is from the common sense perspective. You don’t even have to bring the Ecuadorian government into this argument. It’s kind of like the U.S./Mexico border situation. If a government can’t confirm who you are, why should they let you into their country? The Ecuadorian government is essentially doing what the U.S. is doing at their borders.
However, I doubt anyone will call the country of Ecuador racist as they do with the U.S.
While the plight the Venezuelan people has been tragically foisted upon them over the years, Ecuador has the right to protect its country by denying migrants who don’t have the proper identification. That method isn’t heartless, it’s what the Ecuadorian government feels is in the best interests of its own Ecuadorian people.