Brazil abandons UN migration treaty

Bloomberg

Brazil’s incoming government won’t sign a broad United Nations migration treaty, following in the footsteps of the US and Chile in a crackdown on open borders.
Ernesto Araujo, who will be 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 January 1, has signalled he will adopt a more hard-line approach on migration into Latin America’s largest economy, especially flows of Venezuelans fleeing the economic crisis in their country, which is straining public services along the northern border and causing increased tension and animosity among locals.
The move is also in line with a pledge to align Brazil closely with the US, which has criticised global governing bodies and promised to build a wall along the border with Mexico.
Last month, Bolsonaro proposed creating refugee camps for thousands of Venezuelan refugees in the border state of Roraima, and he has criticised previous left-wing governments for supporting Venezuela’s socialist government.
In reference to the crisis with its northern neighbour,
Araujo said that “the fundamental thing is to work for the restoration of democracy in Venezuela.”