Published: 16th of May, 2023. International News. Venezuela. GSA News.
Last updated: May 17, 2023 at 17:10 pm
Roraima is Brazil’s northernmost state which borders both Guyana and Venezuela. Take a look at what’s happening here.
Here we can see Venezuelan refugees sleeping in the open air…whole families…exposed to the elements of sun and rain. Despite strong efforts by the Brazilian Government to integrate and assist as many Venezuelans as possible, the situation is still overwhelming. It is a stark reminder of what could possibly go wrong with an oil economy.
Nicolas Maduro is perceived as a dictator government by the United States and a conglomerate of other countries resulting in the application of sanctions to try to force him out and restore democracy to the country. These sanctions have affected Venezuela’s ability to do business with the rest of the world contributing to other economic woes such as gross mismanagement, corruption, and falling oil prices. Sanctions rarely affects the dictator it aims to remove. It hurts only the blameless civilians.
To put things into perspective, Venezuela was once the richest country in South America and the fourth richest country in the world. Before the first wave of economic turbulence hit the country in the late 1980s, the Venezuelan Bolivar was equal in strength to the US dollar. After the death of Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan economy started to nosedive. By the year 2012, a few rich Venezuelans had already sold their assets and jumped out of the sinking ship.
But most failed to heed the warning. By the year 2013, hyperinflation had so badly crushed the national currency that a television set was sold for millions of bolivars. Brazilians, Colombians, and even Guyanese seized the opportunity to purchase cheap items from Venezuela.
But soon, there was nothing left to sell and the Bolivar continued its downward spiral. By 2014, mass migration out of Venezuela started. By the year 2016, it became pronounced when fleeing Venezuela refugee became a common sight in every neighboring country.
