Cuban refugee surge in Brazil hits record as reforms spark migration

In 2025 Brazil received 75,599 asylum applications, with Cuban nationals filing 41,919 requests (55.4% of the total) – an 88.1% increase from the previous year and overtaking Venezuelan applicants, who submitted 21,233 requests. The rise contributed to a 10.9% overall growth in asylum filings and concentrated mainly in the northern state of Roraima, which handled 32% of all cases.

The surge follows Cuba’s recent approval of a sweeping economic reform package of 176 measures that open the economy to private investment and foreign capital in sectors such as tourism, agriculture, real estate, banking and foreign exchange. The reforms aim to address a deepening humanitarian and economic crisis, marked by fuel shortages, power outages and declining tourist arrivals. Analysts link the heightened refugee flow to the political and social tensions accompanying Cuba’s move toward a market-oriented system.