A CASE STUDY OF HAITIAN MIGRATION, 2010-2025: SELECTIVE COMPARISONS OF TRENDS AND GOVERNANCE BETWEEN BRAZIL AND CHILE

Author: Liliana Acero

Abstract:

The chaotic history of Haiti in recent decades has led to a significant flow of migrants to Brazil and Chile in search of better living conditions, peace, and prosperity. Each host country has welcomed these migrants, implemented governance policies, and treated them differently. This article aims to comparatively illustrate the context experienced by Haitians in both countries. Theoretically, the study includes a description of the precariousness of their past and present living conditions, their individual and collective resilience strategies, the impact of racism and discrimination on Haitian identity, and the government's adoption of a migration governance model based on management and control. Methodologically, this is an exploratory, qualitative, hypothetic-deductive study, grounded in specialized literature on Haitian history, culture, and migration, as well as statistical data on their socio-demographic profiles, information from public documents, and reports from key civil society organizations and migrant collectives. Although living conditions for Haitians are precarious in both countries, the study concludes that racism and discrimination — based on skin color, nationality, class, and language — have exacerbated their vulnerability. Nevertheless, Haitians have developed successful subjective and intersubjective resilience strategies. However, collective resistance remains incipient, although it appears to be more developed in Brazil.