The securitization of the Brazilian border in the face of the Venezuelan migration crisis

analysis of the border ordering process from the perspective of Operations Controle and Acolhida

Abstract

This article investigates the dual role played by the Brazilian Armed Forces in the Brazilian Government's responses to the increase in the migratory flow on the border of the state of Roraima as a result of the Venezuelan political crisis, the operations Controle and Acolhida. Based on the theory of the Copenhagen School, the relationship between the operations regarding the ordering of the border, a structuring axis common to both initiatives, is discussed. We put the national response to the test, supported by structured participant observation made by the authors who were each inserted in one of the operations. The central issue addressed, specifically, asks whether Venezuelan migration is being securitized through the operations Controle e Acolhida,, and what is the influence of each in this process. As a result, we carried out a theoretical confrontation with the main concepts of the Copenhagen School and discussed the securitization process, highlighting the impacts on the perception of security projected at national and international level, questioning the (im)balance between the proposed objectives for each of the operations and its results in the security and humanitarian fields.