Brazil Abandons UN Treaty in Sign of More Migration Backlash

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s incoming government won’t sign a broad United Nations migration treaty, following in the footsteps of the U.S. and Chile in a crackdown on open borders.

Ernesto Araujo, the incoming Foreign Minister under President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro, said on Twitter that the United Nations Global Compact for Migration is “an inadequate instrument to deal with the problem” and that migration should be dealt with by countries individually. Brazil will seek a regulatory framework compatible with its own reality, he said.

Bolsonaro, who takes office on Jan. 1, has signaled he will adopt a tougher approach on migration, especially concerning the large inflow of Venezuelans, which is straining public services along the northern border. The move is also in line with his pledge to align Brazil more closely with the U.S., which has criticized global governing bodies.

Last month, Bolsonaro proposed creating refugee camps for thousands of Venezuelan in the border state of Roraima, and he has criticized previous left-wing governments for supporting Venezuela’s socialist regime.

Current Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes said on Twitter that he received the incoming administration’s decision "with dismay" and pointed out that Brazil is a multi-ethnic country formed by immigrants. "The issue is one of a global nature. Every region of the world is affected by migratory flows," he said.

The UN migration treaty has been backed by more than 150 countries and rejected by governments including the U.S., Hungary, Poland and Chile. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, who already overhauled the nation’s immigration laws since taking office earlier this year, said that his government needs autonomy to deal with waves of migrants coming mostly from Venezuela, Haiti and Colombia.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Malinowski in Brasilia at mmalinowski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vivianne Rodrigues at vrodrigues3@bloomberg.net, Daniel Cancel

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