Preface: The refugee problem in Venezuela is a humanitarian disaster, and those on the outside cannot understand the true feelings of those who are involved. As an outsider who has never been to Venezuela, the author can only partially understand the entire situation through news media reports and information on the Internet. In this regard, the author apologizes if his understanding of a certain incident is not deep enough, and sincerely accepts any concerns and comments. In the next article, the author will interview Venezuelan students on campus and express their voices, so that everyone can have a more comprehensive understanding of the entire situation.
People living in the United States, especially those in the North, may only have a concept of Latin American refugees in the debates between the news media and the two parties over policies. However, more people will only notice the immigration wave that directly affects the United States, which is primarily the Central American refugee crisis, yet, fewer people know that more than 7 million people in more distant South America have chosen to leave their own countries, as they “have been displaced globally.”
As a country with oil exports as its main economic source, coupled with its small economic size and weak industrial capabilities, Venezuela is extremely sensitive to fluctuations in international crude oil prices. Although we always hear that oil-producing countries are extremely rich, as resource-producing countries, once resource export industries account for the majority of domestic economic production, it will lead to Dutch disease, which is the phenomenon of rising currency exchange rates and reduction in domestic manufacturing.
The rise in oil prices that began in the early 2000s brought funds to Venezuela unprecedented since the 1980s. In order to maintain political power, then-President Chavez promoted social programs and launched the "Bolivarian Mission" to provide public services to improve economic, cultural and social conditions. The Bolivarian mission established thousands of free clinics to serve the poor and implemented food and housing subsidies, which greatly improved the living standards of the people at the bottom; it was considered to be the main reason for Chavez's high approval rating, as his policy also improved Venezuela’s standing in a UN index.
Yet, as I mentioned above, the revenue earned from massive oil exports has not been used to create more manufacturing jobs, but instead has been used to provide welfare benefits. So when the financial crisis came in 2008 and international oil prices plummeted, perhaps Venezuela's economic collapse was already a foregone conclusion. As Louis XV said: "Après moi, le déluge (After me, the Flood)." Chavez was the architect of Venezuela's economic collapse, and his successor, Maduro, inherited his welfare policies and devastated the country, causing the economic collapse to come even faster and more violently.
As early as the end of Chavez's administration, failed economic policies led to Venezuela's economic instability, and the problems of poverty, inflation and material shortages began to worsen. By 2016, Venezuela’s inflation rate reached 800%, the highest ever in the country up until that time. In January 2018, the International Monetary Fund predicted that Venezuela's inflation rate in 2018 would be as high as 13,000%. However, in July of the same year, it estimated that the inflation rate could reach 1,000,000% by the end of 2018. For comparison, the "high inflation" of 5% in the first quarter of this year in the United States has caused many Americans to feel a significant decline in their quality of life.
The systemic economic collapse has brought about a series of impacts that have led to the collapse of other systems that function normally in society. Venezuelans had to leave their homeland to find a new life of their own. It is estimated that more than 150,000 people emigrated from Venezuela in 2016, a new high in more than 10 years. The number of immigrants going abroad since 2017 has risen to "hundreds of thousands.” The UN Refugee Agency reports that more than 4 million Venezuelans are fleeing their homes in 2023! As the saying goes, life will find its own way, cruel but realistic. The economic exploitation caused by hyperinflation has left them with nothing, and they can only rely on their own feet to take slow but firm steps towards the future they wish to have.
Although the United States has indeed economically exploited South American countries in history, and the economic sanctions from the United States have contributed to this crisis, the U.S. is actively providing a large amount of support to international human rights organizations, whether official or private. Maybe as a student, you can't provide refugees with housing and jobs like those who are capable, but your concern for them and spreading their stories is a great kindness. It is also one of the important missions of Christians to make the majority of the lucky people who live a happy life realize that there are still a large number of people suffering in this world.
In January 2022, the Central Bank of Venezuela announced that it had completed 12 consecutive months of annual inflation below 50%, indicating that Venezuela has gradually emerged from the vicious inflation cycle it has been trapped in since 2017. According to data from the Venezuelan Financial Observatory (OVF), compared with the same period in 2021, the Venezuelan economy will grow by 12.3% in the first half of 2022, mainly due to a 36.3% increase in oil production, but in any case, perhaps this is also a sign of Venezuela's economic recovery. Here, the author sincerely hopes that Venezuela’s economy can regain stability, so that the humanitarian crisis can be prevented from the source as much as possible. One day, we hope that the people of Venezuela will be able to live happily in their own country and strive to pursue their own happiness.
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 日韩AV. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 日韩AV or the Seventh-day Adventist church.