Cohabitation or Coexistence? Narratives of Venezuelan and Chilean Residents in the Commune of Ñuñoa, Santiago, Chile (2014-2025)

This article presents the results of a qualitative study carried out in the commune of Ñuñoa, Metropolitan Region of Santiago, during the year 2024. The objective is to characterize Venezuelan migration in this territory, analyzing the meanings attributed by residents —both migrants and nationals— to the co-presence of Venezuelans and Chileans, learning about neighborhood activities, both Venezuelan and mixed. Using an ethnographic methodology, in-depth interviews were conducted with leaders of Ñuñoa Neighborhood Councils and Venezuelan residents, along with observations in the main sports and religious centers in the ter­ritory. The results show a sectoralization of Venezuelan migration in Ñuñoa, concentrating in the large buildings in the south of the commune. Under a somewhat invisible Venezuelan neighborhood, coexistence is evident in everyday mixed-use spaces such as plazas, sports fields, and Christian churches, with the most relevant Venezuelan organizations located outside the commune, yet participating in them. For their part, the Chilean neighbors, longtime residents of this middle-class commune, are more inclined to integrate Venezuelan social identity into Chilean identity than to maintain multiculturalism in their neighborhoods.