Circular Migration in Venezuelan Frontier Areas
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.1977.tb00955.x |
| Date | 01 January 1977 |
| Author | MARY ELLEN CONAWAY |
| Published date | 01 January 1977 |
Circular Migration in Venezuelan
Frontier
Areas
BY MARY ELLEN CONAWAY
The Orinoco River has its origins in Southern Venezuela as part of the Amazon River
drainage system. It runs north, northeast to the Caribbean Sea. The area discussed in
this paper is located alongthe northeast flow approximately between
63"
and
67"
west
.longitude, and
5"
and
8"
north latitude an area which includes either side of the Ori-
noco. To the north ofthe river lie savana lands which gradually become tropical forests
to
the south. Several generations of immigrants and internal migrants, beginning with
the conquistadors have found the Orinoco lowlands and the tropical forests of southern
Venezuela inhospitable environments. Only since the
1920's
and
1930's,
with greater
control over malaria and other diseases and illnesses, the development of transportation
routes, and the introduction of other technological features, has settlement of non-
indigenous people been significant.
Ethnohistorical accounts confirm the presence
of
indigenous groups in the area at
the time of Contact. Since then, explorers, exploiters, and settlers come and go, in
some cases leaving indelible marks and in other cases conforming to the land and the
demands of the environment. We see, for example, that the political center of the
Venezuelan war for independence was at Angostur now Ciudad Bolivar, on the narro-
west section of the Orinoco. The capital of the Amazon Territory was moved from its
southern location at San Fernando de Atabapo north
to
Puerto Ayacucho,
also
in the
area of our concern. Beginning in the
1950's
development was focused on building an
industrial complex including a steel mill, hydroelectric power plant and urban center
at Ciudad Guayana near the confluence of the Caroni River with the Orinoco. The
planned growth and investment associated with iron ore exploitation and water-gener-
ated energy opened more opportunities for employment of the unskilled and semi-
skilled in the vicinity than had the petroleum industry twenty years earlier. Each of
these three settlements endures in stark contrast to the surrounding environment.
For
h
spite
of
such inroads, the area continues to evince a number
of
frontier characteris-
tics. It is limited in area and exhibits geographical, political,social and economic dis-
continuity between it and contiguous land belonging
to
the Venezuelan nation. The
land itself is poor. Vast areas are subject to flooding, and agricultural and livestock
projects are rarely successful. Slash-and-burn agriculture, practiced from Pre-Columbian
times to the present, is somewhat more successful.
To
make a living, most indigenous
People and many in-migrant settlers also must
fish,
hunt and gather for food sources,
as well as occasionally engage in wage labor. Closely associated with agricultural pur-
suits are weather patterns. The wet season results in much flooding and the dry season
h
drought-like months. Last year's wet season lasted nearly twelve months. The exces-
sive rains are said to have caused extensivc floodinp. crop destruction, and increased
To continue reading
Request your trial