Document Type

Hungry Cities Research Briefs

Publication Date

1-2025

Abstract

Since 2015, Venezuela’s economic and political crisis has led to an accelerated deterioration of the population’s living conditions and large-scale out-migration to other countries in Latin America (Landaeta-Jiménez & Herrera, 2020). Scarcity of food and medicine are the main drivers of Venezuelan migration, which is often irregular in nature (Gandini et al., 2019). Despite the challenges, Venezuelan migrants and refugees demonstrate both resilience and adaptability in responding to crisis (Martin et al., 2013). Although all types of food may be available, the ability to acquire food is restricted due to a lack of access to the formal job market, to social services, and to government support.

The global health crisis of COVID-19 not only deepened the social and economic exclusion of Venezuelan migrants, it has also widened the gaps in their access to food, increasing levels of food insecurity, making them even more dependent on the support of international organizations and informal networks (Eguiguren et al., 2022; Milan & Martens, 2023; Pérez et al., 2021).

This research brief discusses the interrelationship of these factors, focusing on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the food security of Venezuelan migrants in Quito, Ecuador. This qualitative Photovoice study uses an intersectional perspective and photovoice methodology to address the experiences of migrants in three temporalities: before, during, and after the pandemic (Antias, 2006).

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