More than half of young Venezuelans want to move abroad permanently, after food shortages, violence and a political crisis escalated to new extremes last year, a survey showed.
Once Latin America’s richest country, Venezuela’s economy is collapsing and it is battling hyperinflation at levels unmatched anywhere else in the world.
The IMF projects inflation would reach 13,000 percent this year and the economy would shrink 15 percent.
Photo: Bloomberg
For Venezuelans between 15 and 29, the crisis has escalated to a point where they have lost confidence in their home, a poll carried out by the US firm Gallup and shared exclusively with the Guardian showed.
About 53 percent would like to move abroad permanently.
One of the most painful effects of the current crisis has been widespread hunger.
In 2015, when inflation and food shortages were well below current levels, nearly 45 percent of Venezuelans said there were times when they were unable to afford food; in the latest study, that figure had risen to 79 percent — one of the highest rates in the world.
Oscar Dominguez, 27, is one of millions dreaming of a new life abroad. He is still in Venezuela only because he is trying to scrape together the price of a plane ticket.
“I want to go because our salaries are not enough to live on,” Dominguez said.
His disillusionment has been rapid. In 2016, he was optimistic enough about Venezuela that he invested in a food store, but a year later he had to close.
“Food prices increased a lot and it was impossible for me to keep the business running,” he said. “I got into debt trying to make it work.”
He ruled out Australia because of its strict visa rules, and instead has decided to follow friends to Chile — which Gallup found was the third-most popular destination for Venezuelans fleeing the country.
Because its land border is accessible to Venezuelans who cannot afford plane tickets, neighboring Colombia is the most popular choice for a new home.
So many people have fled into Colombia and Brazil that both countries have clamped down on controls along their long, shared frontier. Venezuelans over 30 may also be feeling bleak about their future, but are not quite as ready to leave.
More than a third of those between 30 and 54 want to emigrate, but less than a quarter of Venezuelans who are 55 or over hope to make a new home.
Norma Gutierrez, a radiologist in eastern Caracas, is one of those older would-be migrants.
Acute shortages in the hospital where she works depress her, and she says the idea of emigrating crosses her mind at least once a week.
She does not have many friends and family in Venezuela any more. Her eldest son left four years ago for the US and her brother lives in France; the main thing still tying her to home is her youngest daughter, who is trying to finish medical school.
“I want to leave because I have no quality of life,” she said. “With this hyperinflation, my salary is not enough to live with dignity.”
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI