THE ERA OF MIGRATIONS IN RORAIMA

The Brazilian Amazon, particularly the state of Roraima, represents one of the most significant new developments in studies of international migration in South America. Between 2017 and 2024, the entry of more than 900,000 Venezuelans through Pacaraima (74% of all Venezuelan entries) brought profound transformations to the geopolitical dynamics of the region, a phenomenon that led to the establishment of Brazil's first humanitarian intervention centered on international migration: Operation Acolhida (Jarochinski Silva; Albuquerque, 2021). Whether due to the historical presence of the Army along the Amazonian borders, its prior experience with humanitarian emergencies, the omission of local and state authorities, or the instability of the 2 federal executive branch, Operation Acolhida consolidated a humanitarian management model that merges militarism and humanitarianism (Amar, 2020; Watson, 2009). This work aims to assess this Operation, understanding it as an expression of the consolidation of Roraima as a global buffer zone (Agier, 2006; Baeninger, 2024). Methodologically, the research is grounded in official data published by the Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, administrative records from the Brazilian Federal Police, and direct monitoring of the structures of Operation Acolhida. Taken together, this empirical evidence reinforces the specific characteristics of Roraima in the migration era (Castles; Miller, 2003), requiring interpretative frameworks that highlight dimensions of the Global South and Brazil in this context.