Turmoil and a political swing to the left have brought an influx of prominent and affluent exiles from the region to the Spanish capital in recent years.
MADRID — Antonio Ledezma, a former mayor of Caracas, jokes that he sometimes forgets that Madrid is not the capital of Venezuela, from where he escaped five years ago.
“Whenever I walk around or take a bus, I probably bump into two or three other Venezuelans,” he said of the Spanish capital. “It’s a bit strange, but this sometimes feels to me just like Sabana Grande,” he added, referring to one of the main boulevards of Caracas.
While people from Latin America have long sought work in Spain — often in low-wage jobs as cleaners, waiters or on construction sites — turmoil in the region in recent years has brought an influx of prominent and affluent exiles. Now, the Spanish capital is rivaling Miami as a haven for Latin Americans — and often for their money, too, according to the new arrivals and others catering to them.
Mr. Ledezma and several other high-profile opposition politicians from Venezuela have landed in Madrid after fleeing the repressive government of President Nicolás Maduro. Other wealthy Latin Americans have also begun shifting their money out of countries where voters have recently elected left-wing presidents, including Mexico in 2018, Peru last year and most recently Chile, where Gabriel Boric took office in March as the country’s youngest president. Mr. Boric has pledged to make Chilean society more egalitarian.
The response in Spain seems to have been to roll out the red carpet. When Mr. Ledezma arrived in Madrid in November 2017, he was welcomed by the prime minister of Spain at the time, Mariano Rajoy, who immediately offered him Spanish citizenship. Mr. Ledezma turned down the offer, but many other Latin Americans, particularly the rich, are applying for or have received Spanish citizenship. Some received a so-called golden visa that Spain has been granting in return for spending at least 500,000 euros, or about $550,000, on a property.
Spain allows Latin Americans to apply for citizenship after two years of legal residency, which is shorter than the normal 10-year residency requirement for other nationalities, or the five years for refugees.
“Spain has really been very generous with Venezuelans, opening its doors wide open and giving them plenty of ways to get a legal residency here,” said Jorge Neri, a Venezuelan who has a media company in Madrid.
For wealthy Latin Americans, he noted, Madrid has also recently offered better investment opportunities than Miami. “I think Madrid has been consolidating itself above Miami, also because the prices in Miami have just been skyrocketing,” he said.
Gilberto Carrasquero, a Venezuelan business consultant, is one of many Latin Americans who have sold a property in Miami and bought one in Madrid — in his case, an apartment in the Salamanca neighborhood, where Venezuelan and Mexican property developers have snapped up and refurbished entire buildings.
“When Venezuela plunged into crisis and we started to leave, it seemed that the natural place to flock to was Miami, which is exactly what I did, but in truth Madrid now feels a lot more like home to me,” said Mr. Carrasquero, who is applying for Spanish citizenship.
There are now about 200,000 Venezuelans officially registered in Spain, but experts say that the real number is significantly higher because Spain’s national statistics do not include those who are not officially domiciled or who entered the country illegally. About a quarter of Latin American migration to Spain is illegal, according to a study published in 2020.
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Turmoil and a political swing to the left have brought an influx of prominent and affluent exiles from the region to the Spanish capital in recent years.
MADRID — Antonio Ledezma, a former mayor of Caracas, jokes that he sometimes forgets that Madrid is not the capital of Venezuela, from where he escaped five years ago.
“Whenever I walk around or take a bus, I probably bump into two or three other Venezuelans,” he said of the Spanish capital. “It’s a bit strange, but this sometimes feels to me just like Sabana Grande,” he added, referring to one of the main boulevards of Caracas.
While people from Latin America have long sought work in Spain — often in low-wage jobs as cleaners, waiters or on construction sites — turmoil in the region in recent years has brought an influx of prominent and affluent exiles. Now, the Spanish capital is rivaling Miami as a haven for Latin Americans — and often for their money, too, according to the new arrivals and others catering to them.
Mr. Ledezma and several other high-profile opposition politicians from Venezuela have landed in Madrid after fleeing the repressive government of President Nicolás Maduro. Other wealthy Latin Americans have also begun shifting their money out of countries where voters have recently elected left-wing presidents, including Mexico in 2018, Peru last year and most recently Chile, where Gabriel Boric took office in March as the country’s youngest president. Mr. Boric has pledged to make Chilean society more egalitarian.
The response in Spain seems to have been to roll out the red carpet. When Mr. Ledezma arrived in Madrid in November 2017, he was welcomed by the prime minister of Spain at the time, Mariano Rajoy, who immediately offered him Spanish citizenship. Mr. Ledezma turned down the offer, but many other Latin Americans, particularly the rich, are applying for or have received Spanish citizenship. Some received a so-called golden visa that Spain has been granting in return for spending at least 500,000 euros, or about $550,000, on a property.
Spain allows Latin Americans to apply for citizenship after two years of legal residency, which is shorter than the normal 10-year residency requirement for other nationalities, or the five years for refugees.
“Spain has really been very generous with Venezuelans, opening its doors wide open and giving them plenty of ways to get a legal residency here,” said Jorge Neri, a Venezuelan who has a media company in Madrid.
For wealthy Latin Americans, he noted, Madrid has also recently offered better investment opportunities than Miami. “I think Madrid has been consolidating itself above Miami, also because the prices in Miami have just been skyrocketing,” he said.
Gilberto Carrasquero, a Venezuelan business consultant, is one of many Latin Americans who have sold a property in Miami and bought one in Madrid — in his case, an apartment in the Salamanca neighborhood, where Venezuelan and Mexican property developers have snapped up and refurbished entire buildings.
“When Venezuela plunged into crisis and we started to leave, it seemed that the natural place to flock to was Miami, which is exactly what I did, but in truth Madrid now feels a lot more like home to me,” said Mr. Carrasquero, who is applying for Spanish citizenship.
There are now about 200,000 Venezuelans officially registered in Spain, but experts say that the real number is significantly higher because Spain’s national statistics do not include those who are not officially domiciled or who entered the country illegally. About a quarter of Latin American migration to Spain is illegal, according to a study published in 2020.