Santiago, Chile — SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) – Peruvian President José Gerry announced Friday that he would declare a state of emergency along the country's southern border and deploy more troops to the region as many Venezuelan migrants head north from Chile, where anti-immigrant sentiment is rising during a difficult presidential campaign.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants, fleeing crisis in their home countries or seeking better opportunities abroad, have crossed the continent's borders with Peru to build new lives in Chile, one of Latin America's most stable and prosperous countries.
But a large number of people without legal status in Chile, most of them Venezuelans who have abandoned their country's economic ruin and authoritarian rule in recent years, are also heading in the other direction as Chile prepares to toughen its stance on immigration.
José Antonio Casto, an ultra-conservative lawyer who is considered the front-runner in Chile's December 14 presidential run-off, is running a campaign centered on public concerns over the rise in Venezuelan immigration and organized crime. Last week, he filmed a campaign video on the border between Chile's porous desert and Peru, warning migrants without formal status to leave the country while they can.
“You have 111 days to leave Chile voluntarily,” Casto said in the ad, referring to the number of days until a new government takes office from the current left-wing president, Gabriel Bolić. “If you don't, we will stop you, detain you, and expel you. You will leave with the clothes on your back.”
Peruvian media soon filled with photos of migrant families rushing north from Chile to Peru, stuffing their belongings into backpacks and garbage bags.
Within days, Jeri visited the same area to inspect border security and sent troops to strengthen security operations.
Residents of Chile's northern border towns reported growing chaos as large numbers of people who left Chile but were unable to obtain permits to enter Peru were left stranded. On Friday, Mr. Jeri convened his cabinet and declared a state of emergency in the region.
There are no hard numbers on how many people are deciding to leave Chile, given Mr Casto's threat of mass deportations and what immigration lawyers describe as growing xenophobia in the South American country of 18.5 million people.
On Friday, Kast released a new video repeating his warnings against immigrants and urging Boric to intervene. Peru's Foreign Minister Hugo de Zera dismissed his comments, saying presidential candidates “cannot speak on behalf of the Chilean government.”
Asked what effect Mr. Casto's campaign had on the exodus, Chile's Security Minister Luis Cordero said, “Rhetoric sometimes has consequences.”
“We cannot use the people as a means to stir up controversy in the run-up to elections,” he said. “Our main objective is to prevent humanitarian crises.”
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Pereda Zabaleta reported from Lima, Peru