Epicentros de emigración: un análisis comparativo de la evolución de sus dinámicas socioeconómicas y demográficas en Colombia y el Brasil

Abstract

Latin America and the Caribbean is a region of origin, destination and transit for substantial international migration. According to the most recent round of censuses, although some aspects of migratory patterns in the region remain unchanged, there have also been changes in the volume and direction of flows, and in the composition and characteristics of the migrant population, about which little is known. This article offers a comparative analysis of the socioeconomic and demographic trends in international migration in the coffee belt region in Colombia and the microregion of Governador Valadares in Brazil, the main centres of emigration from these two countries. A quantitative approach is employed, including analysis of census data on international emigration from these two countries —information that literature has not explored in detail— and an account of the complexities of migration processes at the national and regional levels. The results indicate that flows have varied according to regional, national and international social, economic and political developments.