For the past week, the presence of families from Venezuela in migrant shelters has been increasing.
As the train passes by the migrant shelter in Coatzacoalcos, in the south of Veracruz, Venezuelan migrants wait for the right moment and car to board. Reaching the United States is their only hope after Nicolás Maduro’s victory on July 28, whom they blame for the poverty and insecurity prevailing in that South American country.
“He is the cause of all our problems, of our emigration, of people wanting to defend their rights and being killed for it. That’s why we flee. Do you think we would be here if we were fine?” says María Inés Moncayo, who left her country three weeks ago.
Since this week, there has been a noticeable increase in migrants from Venezuela in southern Veracruz.
But now entire families with children are arriving; just this week, about 200 Venezuelans were counted inside and outside the migrant house in Coatzacoalcos.
“We left because we are suffering. Maduro is useless; he must be removed. The country is a disaster because it is a war he has created for us. With one salary, you can’t survive; you only half-eat,” says Adeline Oriani, 23, who is traveling from Venezuela with her three-year-old son.
For the two mothers, the migrant route is difficult, as they face crime, long distances, and problems with the National Institute of Migration (INM).
“The journey has been terrible. We walk, and in my case, I have been sent back twice, once in Monterrey and once in Puebla. Migration mistreats us; they leave us in a room with a mattress on the floor,” reiterates María Inés.
They claim that their only hope is to reach the United States.
Jimy Mistre, another migrant who arrived in Coatzacoalcos from Venezuela, says that since his children were born, he has not been able to give them a decent life because he earned less than ten dollars a day.
“I have my wife, my children, my family. It’s difficult because a normal salary is four dollars a day from the government. There are companies that pay you 30 or 40, but even if they paid you 70 dollars, it’s not enough for anything,” he says.
Some Venezuelans left a week before the federal elections, knowing that the opposition would not overthrow Maduro’s government; the journey has not been easy.
Returning to their country, where they earn 4 to 20 dollars a day and a kilo of meat costs 10, is no longer an option. Therefore, in Coatzacoalcos, they group together to continue their journey to the northern border of the country.
Representatives of migrant shelters estimate that the presence of Venezuelans has increased by 200 percent in southern Veracruz over the past couple of weeks, so there is no capacity to accommodate everyone.
“The only thing we can say is ‘Maduro, go to hell,'” they shout from Coatzacoalcos.
Source: La Silla Rota
