What Is Life Really Like In Venezuela?

Venezuela crisis (youtube)

On July 10th, 2016, Colombia opened its border with Venezuela for 12 hours, during which time an estimated 35 thousand Venezuelans crossed into the country in search of affordable food and basic medical supplies. Hundreds had already crossed the border illegally.

So why are so many Venezuelans fleeing to Colombia? What is life really like in Venezuela? Well, Venezuela’s economy is, by all accounts, failing. Inflation is estimated at anywhere between 400 and 800 percent, making Venezuela’s currency, the Bolivar, worth less every day.
As of June 2016, nearly 90 percent of the population cannot even afford to buy food.

Since Venezuela began to spiral out of control in 2013, basic goods like food, water, and medicine have become increasingly difficult to find. This is, in part, due to the government’s strict rationing system, which is designed to prevent patrons from stockpiling goods before inflation drives the prices up. Venezuelans are only allotted two days per week to shop at state-run grocery stores, which often results in long lines and empty shelves. And, although many basic goods can be found on the black market, most people can’t afford them, as high demand and zero price controls lead to exorbitant prices.

Empty rack in supermarket (news.vice.com)

In June 2016, frustrations over food shortages erupted into riots, leaving hundreds of stores ransacked and at least five people dead. Venezuela’s economic woes have also culminated in state-sanctioned blackouts. For 40 days of 2016, the government cut electricity in nearly half the country’s states for four hours each day, forcing homes, businesses and hospitals to operate by generators and candle-light. In other efforts to save energy, the state has pushed their clocks forward by a half-hour 1and shortened the workweek to just two days. Even more flawed is Venezuela’s health care system. According to the Pharmaceutical Federation, the country’s medical facilities lack about 80 percent of the basic supplies they need to treat the country’s population. That means many hospitals are not only without advanced technology, like X-rays or dialysis machines, but also beds, needles, soap and even paper. And because the government has little money for imports, medicine is also scarce, and many have died from infections and other treatable ailments.

What’s more, many of Venezuela’s hospitals are quickly losing trained personnel, as doctors and nurses leave the country in search of higher-paid positions. And this is all under the backdrop of Venezuela’s stubbornly high rates of violent crime, drug trafficking, and corruption.
Venezuela’s largest city, Caracas, has been called the most dangerous in the world, with nearly 120 murders for every 100 thousand people. Much of the country’s violent crime stems from its role in transporting drugs from Colombia to the United States. For the most part, victims cannot count on security forces for help, as police officers frequently commit crimes themselves. According to human rights watch, one in every five crimes is committed by police, and officers have killed thousands of people with impunity. Of course, this is just a snapshot of life in Venezuela while the country is at the lowest point in modern history.

Although it has long known poverty, violent, crime, and corruption, daily life was much less grim five, ten and 20 years ago, while the demand for oil was still high. But in 2016, as oil prices collapse, living conditions in Venezuela are getting worse every day, and thousands have fled to the US and elsewhere. All these factors have tanked the Venezuelan economy in a short period of time, marking it one of the most “Miserable Economies” in the world.

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