Spatiality and control of bodies: Boa Vista and the Venezuelan human mobility

Abstract

This article discusses the socio-spatial transformations undergone by the city of Boa Vista after the significant arrival of Venezuelan migrants from 2015 onwards. We use the documentary methodology to present the increase in the number of Venezuelans in the city, and the bibliographic methodology to reflect on the policies of control of these bodies by the "welcoming" State. In addition, we employ the dialectical hermeneutic method to discuss power relations based on Bauman’s and Foucault’s theories. Using Henri Lefebvre’s perspective, we present the urban space as a place where daily social relations function and we question spatial changes. The aim is to demonstrate that the State determines the level of interaction between residents, reinforcing the systemic prejudice/xenophobic practice based on the control of "unwelcome" bodies.

migration; mobility; humanitarian law; militarization; Operação Acolhida (Welcome Operation