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Emilia Erazo

Ms. Morton

English 111-33

02 November 2018

Venezuela, the Richest and Poorest Country

Venezuela is considered one of the most beautiful and richest countries in South America

for all its oil and mineral resources, but it is still suffering a great economic crisis. Despite all the

wealth that the country has, a socio-economic crisis has been developing over the years, affecting

the citizens and their lifestyles. This and many other reasons, such as the insecurity, crime,

government, and lack of food or medicine, are causing citizens to emigrate to neighboring

countries, or even the United States, in search of new opportunities and a better quality of life.

Venezuela was a country of great wealth during the 1920s through the 1970s but suffered

an economic fall from the 1980s and into the 1990s (Young). This country was always

recognized because of its large oil reserves, and its economy was largely based on the trade of

crude oil. According to Lagasse, “Venezuela has petroleum reserves that are by some estimates

the second largest in the world, and oil has accounted for about 90% of the export income, 50%

of government earnings, and 30% of the gross domestic product” (“Venezuela”). Thus, when the

prices of oil started to fall down, it affected the country on a large scale, causing wages to go

down, and poverty and unemployment to increase. Young states that “Between 1990 and 2002,

real wages in the country fell by 25 percent. Unemployment grew by four percent to a rate of

around 14 percent.” But it was not the fall in oil prices that caused all these; the government

played the greatest part in misconducting the country toward this crisis.
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The blame for the economic crisis falls on the government and all its bad decisions.

According to Ronald Young in the Encyclopedia of World Poverty, “In a 2002 report, the World

Bank claimed that Venezuela had suffered through a ‘vicious circle’ for at least 30 years of weak

governance, inefficient public-sector expenditures, and economic mismanagement that have led

to poor economic performance and growing poverty.” When Socialist President Hugo Chavez

came into power in 1999, he took over the government and important industries, trying to reduce

the price of goods so that people could acquire them, but the industries had to close because they

were not making enough profits. Those closures resulted in all goods being imported because

nothing was produced within the country(Ross). Often these products were of poor quality,

causing more diseases and deaths.

After President Hugo Chavez died, Nicolas Maduro, his vice president, took over the

government and declared the country in a state of emergency, expanding his powers and

militarizing major cities (Ross). This gave Maduro the power to do whatever he wanted because

he had control over the government and the people as well. According to Ross, “Maduro has

become increasingly authoritarian in response to the unrest. He's jailed politicians and others

who oppose his policies. He's shut down TV stations and newspapers that don't support his

regime.” People are scared of saying or protesting against his government because they could

end up in jail or even worse, dead. Even though other countries have tried to help Venezuela,

Maduro has shot them down, perhaps because he knows how serious the situation is and he does

not want to recognize it, or he wants to keep the country under his power. As can be seen, the

bad decisions of the Politicians in charge caused this situation to get even worse each time and

they are not doing anything to change it.

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Venezuelans are desperate to get out of this situation, and get back the country they had

before. They are calling for new leadership, but since President Maduro has total power it is

difficult for them to get a reelection. He is refusing and blocking the votes for a

referendum(Ross). Not being able to do something to make a change, causes frustration among

Venezuelans and drives them to leave the country. In fact, the situation in Venezuela has become

so bad that for the people to be able to buy food, they have to wait in long lines and stay up all

night to get at least a pound of rice, and that is if they are lucky, because the food runs out fast,

which means that there is not even enough food for all of the citizens. According to David

Smilde, "Right now in Venezuela, there's hunger, there's malnourishment, there are people dying

from curable diseases. That's bad, but it could get so much worse if there's not a change

soon."(qtd in Ross). Medicine is scarce; simple flu cases cannot be treated because there is no

medicine, and children die every day from malnutrition. People do the best they can to survive,

but these efforts may not be enough if the situation continues as it is. A change is urgent for this

country or it will continue to cost the lives of its citizens.

Another factor that is affecting Venezuela is crime, it has significantly increased in the

last years , citizens could end up dead because someone was trying to steal a pair of shoes or

food. They could be on their way to work and never come back home. According to Mary Gax

“The United Nations reported last year that Venezuela has the highest number of deaths by

gunfire per capita in the world, followed by Brazil and the U.S. commonwealth of Puerto Rico.”

Due to the lack of money or food, people are even willing to kill to get it. This shows how

serious the situation is and how citizens are being affected by it. As Marx states “Bengi Arreaza

was hanging out on a Caracas street corner with friends [...] when a group of thugs approached.

An argument broke out, and then a fight began. [...] He was shot twice and died instantly,
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according to relatives.” This is an example of the situation of insecurity in Venezuela and like

this one there are many more.

This is making Venezuela a really insecure country not only for its citizens but also for

immigrants too, which also affects the country economically, because not many people will

come to the country to do business or invest money. According to Marx, “ In Caracas, a city of

about 5 million, small bands of heavily armed criminals -- aided by corrupt police -- dominate

the city's hillside slums, where they sell drugs and assault residents.” Venezuelans are scared of

walking on the streets and they do not even feel safe in their own houses, this also motivates

them to emigrate and find a safe home for them and their families, a place where they do not

have to be scared every day and can live in peace.

All these reasons are making people leave Venezuela in search of a better quality of life.

They prefer to go to an unknown place where they do not know anyone and they do not have a

place to live in order to at least be able to stay alive. The situation in Venezuela is not going to

change unless other countries interfere and be able to take the government down. Until things

change people would be still leaving and migrating to other countries, affecting the country

socially, economically and in the eyes of the world. It is unfortunate that Venezuela a country

full of wealth is in this situation and that its owns citizens can do nothing about it but run away

and escape.

Works Cited

Lagasse, Paul. "Venezuela." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Columbia

University Press, 8th ed., 2018. Credo Reference,

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https://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entr

y/columency/venezuela/0?institutionId=5375. Accessed 02 Nov. 2018.

Marx, Gary. "In Venezuela, Crime Runs 'Absolutely Out of Control'."

Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, June 12, 2006, p. 1. ProQuest,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/46530686

9?accountid=10008. Accessed 02 Nov. 2018.

Ross, Brooke. "Hungry for Relief in Venezuela." Junior

Scholastic/Current Events, 19 Sept. 2016, p. 10+. Opposing Viewpoints in

Context,

http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A468334307/OVIC?u=centralp&sid=OVIC&

xid=7417202f. Accessed 02 Nov. 2018.

Young, Ronald. "Venezuela." Encyclopedia of World Poverty, Edited by

Mehmet Odekon, Sage Publications, 1st ed., 2006. Credo Reference,

https://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entr

y/sagewpov/venezuela/0?institutionId=5375. Accessed 02 Nov. 2018.