We Cannot Be Happy: The Intricate and Complicated Economic and Socal Labyrinth in which Venezuela is Trapped Douglas Comacho   © Copyright 2020 by Douglas Comacho

An ordinary Venezuelan citizen briefly relates the hard and difficult economic and social situation that Venezuela is going through, as well as the incoherent, confused and irrational behavior that his compatriots have adopted in trying to survive in a country with growing poverty, blocked internationally and lacking in tranquility, well-being and happiness.

Introduction:
The economic, political and social crisis in Venezuela is a real maze. Today there are millions of Venezuelans living in extreme poverty and millions have left the country, looking for better living conditions. It is a country with deep contradictions, it has immense mineral resources and the largest oil reserves in the world, but the lower social class is on the rise and in conditions of extreme misery and the middle class rapidly loses quality of life and is pushed into poverty. Meanwhile the upper class is enriched by numerous and billionaire corruption businesses, with the elite that governs the country. It is difficult to understand how a country can suffer from so much political and social imbalances and still has not succumbed in a civil war. But traditional economic and political analysis alone is not enough to understand the strange, irrational and absurd reality of Venezuela. All this has generated a deep emotional fracture in millions of Venezuelan families, creating an intensely sore society with growing hopelessness about the future. It is necessary to include in the equation the human aspect, that is, the behavior of the Venezuelan, since it is a fundamental element to understand the origin of all this unfortunate combination of problems, which are leading the country to the catastrophe.

Venezuela is a country of deep contradictions, has wide natural resources such as iron, bauxite, gold, coal, diamonds, nickel, copper, natural gas and also has world's largest oil reserves (310,000 million barrels). But this wealth contrasts with: a) The official inflation rate for the year 2019 was 3,654,129,640.0% (2018: 18,265,146.5%; 2017: 27,896.8%; 2016: 5,184.1%; 2015: 1,460.5% and 2014: 658,7%); b) The minimum monthly salary of 70% of workers, as well as the monthly social security pension for retirees, are equivalent to 3 dollars; c) The International Reserves of the country (7,562 million dollars at November 2019) hardly represent 5.0% of the total external debt; d) UNICEF estimates that 3.2 million children require urgent humanitarian assistance due to severe food shortages and poor access to medical assistance, food, water and education; e) The UN has estimated to require almost 300 million dollars to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to 70% of the population, who currently do not have sufficient income to cover basic food and medication needs; f) The EU will allocate 111 million Euros in 2020 to alleviate the humanitarian crisis of Venezuelans; g) The International Monetary Fund, in a July 2019 report, foresees that by the end of 2019 the country's economy will have an additional contraction of 35%, thus increasing the humanitarian crisis and its devastating impact; h) According to The Economist, 82% of venezuelan households live in critical poverty; i) Venezuela is the second country in Latin America (after Cuba) with the largest number of political prisoners (869), but is the first to censor, shut down or ban newspapers and other media, for spreading anti-government news and opinions.

This briefly describes the deep economic and social crisis in Venezuela, which represents a collapse that amply overcomes many notable disasters in recent years, including: the Zimbabwe crisis under the presidency of Robert Mugabe, the fall of the Soviet Union, and Cuba's economic catastrophe (in the 1990s). There is international consensus that the collapse of the Venezuelan economy, represents the greatest economic disaster that has occurred in a country without war in the last 50 years. The economists of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), estimate that similar levels of economic devastation as that currently shown by Venezuela, are only comparable to countries collapsed by wars, such as Libya (at the beginning of this decade), or Lebanon (in the seventies). The words of Kenneth Rogoff, professor of economics at Harvard University and former Chief Economist of the IMF, illustrate this extreme situation: "It is hard to think of a human tragedy of this magnitude that is not the product of a civil war... This may be the most outstanding example of disastrous policies in decades".
The effects of this dramatic crisis are already evident in Latin America. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), considers that the migratory crisis in Venezuela is the largest and most problematic in Latin American history, estimating that since 2015 approximately 4 million Venezuelans have fled the economic and political crisis in their country, and it by the end of 2019, the number will rise to 5 million people. This "alarming" figure, according to the organization, highlights the urgent need to support countries receiving Venezuelan migrants in South America. According to this Institution, the Venezuelan crisis is one of the greatest emergencies in terms of human displacement in the world.

Altered Behavior:
The deep economic and social crisis that Venezuela is going through is intensely affecting the behavior and social interaction of a large part of the population. The extreme economic situation is generating a precarious and misery situation for a large number of Venezuelan families. Discouragement, sadness, pessimism and despair are the common feelings of Venezuelans. The population shows absolute disappointment and rejection by a government that, despite claiming to be socialist, with its disastrous economic measures has caused a deep economic collapse that mainly affects the middle and lower social classes.

This extreme economic situation is marked by an intense hyperinflationary process, which has devastated the finances of the families, has caused an intense decrease in the purchase of food, medicine and other essential products, all of which has had a catastrophic effect on the welfare of the population by the dissatisfaction of fundamental needs for human beings. This reaction or adaptation to adversity could be explained as a variant of Charles Darwin's Theory of the Evolution of Species. In the case of Venezuela, the theory could be called this way: Theory of Social Evolution in the Economic Crisis, and its fundamental postulate would be: “In societies that suffer severe economic crises, individuals who do not have large incomes will survive only if they can minimize the consumption of essential products and servicese, even if this involves risking the health and well-being of their family group”. The elements of similarity with Darwin's Theory would be: a) Condition that drives evolution or change: The economic crisis; b) Species subject to change: The families; c) Adaptation mechanism: Reduction of the consumption of essential products; d) Consequences: Extreme welfare decline. Although this is obviously irrational from a scientific point of view, it is the most accurate description of the behaviour adopted by a large part of the population due to the crisis suffered by this country.

Many think that among the lessons that can be derived from this profound economic, social and political crisis, is the opportunity or need to review, shape and adapt the behavior and structure of Venezuelan society, due to the large number of errors and improper behaviors that they have eroded the courage and morale of the instances of political power. A fundamental fact is that government management has impaired social cohesion in Venezuela, due to the inadequate, erroneous and incongruous economic policies, that in the last twenty years have dismantled material progress and reversed the mobility of the middle and lower social classes. These situations, in addition to widespread corruption, undue concentration of wealth in few hands and the limited education that reflects much of the population, have generated hopelessness and pessimism in society and the loss of appreciation for the fair value of work and the effort. The effects of hyperinflation have pulverized the capital saved and the income of families, so that the support and purchasing power of wages and pensions is almost non-existent. Faced with inaction or proven inability of the government to solve the problems, it is a huge task for any worker or pensioner to survive while maintaining a minimum of well-being and satisfaction of needs. This creates the moral dilemma of continuing to work for a ridiculous salary that does not calm hunger, or do anything to get the money needed to survive.

Another disadvantageous condition facing the country is the lack of innovation, updating or modernization of the education system, especially at the primary and secondary levels. This results in students being poorly trained, uneducated and unable to develop basic skills or aptitudes or competencies for adult life. In relation to this, the Maduro government, in order to show significant figures of literacy and schooling, has modified the evaluation system of students in schools by eliminating grade exams, demanding that teachers only assign positive appreciative grades so that all Students pass the degree automatically. This incredible, unusual, absurd and crazy procedure (unique in the world), is generating a large mass of elementary and secondary students practically illiterate, uneducated and without any training. Similarly, the recurrent and intense lack of resources to finance research in universities, negatively affects the training capacity and the development of effective and competitive educational processes at this level of professional training. Therefore, a large number of professors and professionals emigrate to other countries in search of better opportunities, which generates increasing shortages of human talent, with negative consequences in the development of any economic or social activity.

It is important to point out that the moral devaluation of many citizens has been so intense that it has caused corruption to spread to almost all of society, to the point that many unscrupulous people do not debate morally between good and evil, since they seem willing to do anything to earn money, whether licit or not.

Strange Reality:
Unfortunately in Venezuelan the economic and social condition has worsened so significantly in recent years, that a large part of the population believes that only a miracle can solve this crisis. Social behaviour reflects a metamorphosis in the appreciation of everyday events. The current reality facing Venezuelan society seems fictional, since events that were unthinkable or irregular in the past, are now accepted as normal. In contrast to this, situations that used to be normal are now non-existent or uncommon, becoming rare or strange events. In this context of crisis, alarming, irrational and unusual events are appreciated, which reflect an abnormal, contradictory, incoherent and unusual social behavior. Among these situations, the following can be highlighted:

• In practice, the government does not recognize freedom of expression as a human right. In the last three years it has banned the activity of 70 media (traditional and digital newspapers, radio and television stations) that have expressed criticism and opinions contrary to the regime. It has also banned access to the Internet signal from a large number of foreign media and news. For this reason, the population has become accustomed to the fact that most of the media do not criticize the government, nor report situations that could identify political, economic or social problems.
  

• In the last three years, the number of patients who die due to lack of medicines or medical attention in hospitals, has increased in great proportions which has caused the country to have the highest mortality rate in the entire American continent. Endemic diseases that had been overcome before the end of the 20th century, such as: Malaria, Dengue, Chagas and Measles, have reappeared with remarkable intensity. This is a consequence of the poor public health policy, the recurrent budget deficit allocated to hospitals, as well as the lack of production and importation of medicines and vaccines. This evident humanitarian crisis contrasts with the fact that professional baseball, soccer and basketball championships continue to be developed in the country, to which the government assigns subsidies, as well as tax incentives.
  

• Venezuela is among the ten countries in the world with the highest per capita alcohol consumption, and worldwide it reflects the highest mortality rate associated with alcoholism.
  

• The only country in the world where gasoline is free is Venezuela, because the government for more than two years, has maintained its value at 0.00001 bolivars per liter, which is equivalent to $ 0.000000001389 dollars. This unusual and inexplicable fact coupled with the notable decrease in oil production and refining in the last three years, has forced the government to import gasoline and reduce supply to the domestic market. Only in Caracas the regular supply of gasoline is maintained, but in other cities and towns, motorists must wait in long lines, between six and eight hours, to buy limited amounts of fuel, which they must pay in dollars at the price that subjectively and speculatively decide the employees or owners of the service stations. Therefore it could be said that gasoline is free in Caracas, but in the other cities of the country, it is the most expensive in the world.
  

• Even though the country has the third largest hydroelectric power plant in the world (after the “Three Gorges” dams in China, and “Itaipu” between Brazil and Paraguay) the lack of investment in maintenance, replacement and updating of the generating turbines, it is so significant that for three years the country has suffered from recurrent power cuts. For this reason, the government has reduced the daily workday in offices and public companies to five hours and has established electricity and water rationing that can be six hours or less per day, in most of the country's cities. In March of 2019 the situation worsened to such an extent that the country suffered a total electric outage, which lasted seven days (being the longest and most intense in Latin American history). Since that date, blackouts and consequent failures in water supply throughout the country have intensified.
  

• The lack of natural gas production and frequent power cuts have caused many families living in the interior of the country to have to cook with firewood. This is also generating environmental problems due to air pollution and deforestation of parks and forests.
  

• Venezuela is one of the countries with the largest water resources in the world, with constant freshwater flows equivalent to 990 cubic kilometers per year. But the lack of planning and disinvestment in maintenance, expansion and construction of new aqueducts and pumping and water treatment plants, has caused that for five years there has not been a constant supply of water to the main cities of the country (40% of the population has no access to water). Recurrent rationing programs are applied that on average limit water supply to less than eight hours a day. But in some cities of the country it is already a normal fact that water is only supplied for two or three days per week.
  

• Hyperinflation means that the number of notes in circulation is insufficient to cover the volume of transactions that require the use of cash. Public and private banks limit the amount of cash that customers can withdraw daily from their cash registers, and close their doors when their vaults run out of banknotes, so it is common for bank branches to remain closed for several days and for most ATMs not to operate. Additionally, banking services are paralyzed by frequent blackouts and power cuts, which makes it extremely difficult to make transactions with electronic payment methods (such as debit cards, credit cards and money transfers).
  

• The economic basis of the tax system is implicitly unfair to consumers, since the income tax paid by companies is considered an operating cost to determine the prices of products or services offered to consumers. Under this scheme, consumers not only pay their income tax as taxpayers, but when they acquire products or services, they indirectly assume corporate taxes.
  

• A collective phobia has been generated against the salary increases ordered by the government, since each time this measure is implemented, greater inflation and unemployment are generated, as the production costs of the companies increase and the sales are contracted.
  

• Hyperinflation and the devastating purchasing power of salaries mean that 70% of the population cannot feed themselves properly or acquire the necessary medicines to treat diseases. On the other hand, more than half of families cannot buy, replace or repair essential goods, such as appliances, computers or vehicles, because household financial income is insufficient for this. Buying clothes and shoes has become a luxury that only 10% of the population can enjoy (upper class).
  

• The majority of the population constantly complains about the inefficiency, inability and irresponsibility of the government to solve the serious economic, social and public health problems facing the country. However, the percentage of abstention in the general and regional elections, that have been held in the last ten years has increased to almost 60%; what denotes an absurd combination of disenchantment, incoherence and citizen irresponsibility.
  

• Money savings are non-existent since banks pay 12% per year for deposits, but monthly inflation exceeds 400%. Therefore, the banking activity has been completely unconfigured, since banks have dedicated themselves to offering electronic payment services to their customers, so that people keep deposits in the banking system solely for that purpose.
  

• Even though it is a very religious country, the Catholic Church has played a regrettable and limited role in this economic and social crisis. Priests, bishops and other Catholic leaders, stand in solidarity with the poor, but only talking about them and the extreme situation they face. However, they do not materialize tangible actions to help the poor and homeless, for example, by providing shelter in their churches to the large number of people in misery. It is an unlikely event to see a Catholic priest visiting a hospital to consulate sick people, nor is it possible to see them touring cities and towns to distribute food or medicine to the needy or homeless. All meetings or special sessions held by bishops and monsignors, to address the country's problems, are always held in churches located in high class areas; therefore, poor people living in lower-class neighborhoods have no right to participate in these events.
  

• It is a recurring practice for the government to press public employees to attend marches and demonstrations that are held regularly to support government management. This is illegal because political activism in the public administration is prohibited by the National Constitution. Employees who do not attend these events may be administratively punished for not being considered for promotions and salary increases, or they can be dismissed from their positions by being considered political opponents of the government.
  

• Almost 50% of all households have reduced their family nucleus due to the migration of people to other countries to seek better living conditions. The absence of 5 million migrants (which is increasing) makes family celebrations of birthdays, Christmas or the arrival of the new year, sad or depressing occasions.
  

• People who require medical attention should wait an average of five months to be examined by doctors. Even in emergencies, patients are only admitted when there are unoccupied beds.
  

• Hospitals do not have laboratory services for examinations, x-rays, MRIs, etc., so only patients with sufficient financial capacity can assume the costs of these services from the private sector.
  

• Very few surgical interventions are performed because most operating rooms and intensive care units do not work, due to equipment breakdowns or because the facilities are contaminated, all of which generate an extremely high mortality rate.
  

• Budget deficits cause limitations in the provision of cleaning and disinfection materials, which spreads infections. This aggravates the mortality rate, decreases the chances of recovery of the sick and even and compromises the well-being of family members and the doctors and nurses themselves. Nurses and other auxiliary personnel, frequently resort to strikes and protests to demand better salaries.
  

• The severe shortage of medicines has created a large black market for medicines, which especially affects the poor since their cost can exceed five or six times normal. The inability, ignorance or corruption of government officials has made it more difficult to find a solution to this problem. In the case of medicines for serious diseases, the situation is extreme because it is not even possible to obtain them on the black market.
  

• Red traffic lights are no guarantee that pedestrians will cross streets and avenues safely, as drivers of vehicles generally do not pay attention to such a signal.
  

• Motorcyclists drive in the opposite direction through streets and avenues and even drive along sidewalks and pedestrian boulevards. Many of them do not wear helmets so many doctors claim, in a sarcastic tone, that they are potential organ donors.
  

• Buses do not use demarcated sites as stops to take or leave passengers, so it is normal to do so elsewhere.
  

• Pedestrians generally cross streets and avenues without respecting pedestrian signs or crossings. In addition, a stupid macho complex tends to instill in men the habit of crossing streets or avenues without respecting or verifying that the traffic light allows it. Doing this is accepted as an unequivocal sign of masculinity, which is recognized or admired by other men.
  

• Cops do not supervise compliance with traffic rules or signs. This stimulates carelessness or disorder in the citizens, since they consider that disrespecting the laws or traffic signs will not generate punishment, fines or sanctions. On the other hand, the level of corruption in the police force is so intense that when they detect infractions, they chatter with those who prefer to pay them because it is cheaper than legal fines.
  

• When electricity is restored and water pumps restart, families organize to go shopping, clean homes, store water, take baths, recharge cell phones and reconnect to the Internet; all of which profoundly alter schedules and carrying out any other personal or family activity.
  

• Parties, celebrations and gatherings of family or friends cannot take place, because it is not known when the power supply will be interrupted and how long the blackout will last. Many celebrations end abruptly when frequent outages occur.
  

• Flashlights, batteries and candles have become highly demanded products and their prices have risen to unattainable levels for most.
  

• In the offices, it is common for activities to be delayed and processes carried out on computers are lost, as a result of frequent interruptions of the electricity service, since a large number of companies do not have their own power generation plants.
  

• Large numbers of people have chosen to reduce the purchase of food that requires refrigeration, to avoid being damaged by frequent blackouts and not having portable power generation plants. This has gradually increased nutritional problems, especially in children and elderly people.
  

• Many people have lost appliances and electronic equipment such as computers and televisions, which have been burned when strong power surges occur in the moments when the electrical fluid is restored. This causes a deficiency in the quality of life of families, given the great economic difficulty to replace or repair these equipment.
  

• We try to deny our inescapable reality and do not accept the criticisms that originate in other countries, especially when they emphasize the inadequacy of economic, social and educational policies that have led us to poverty, backwardness and loss of competitiveness.
  

• We get angry and blame rich countries when they categorize us with stereotypes of poverty, informality, irresponsibility and disorder (as Hollywood movies generally suggest).
  

• We try to hide our irresponsibility and lack of objectivity and will, with empty excuses to justify not having solved the economic and social problems that we ourselves have created or stimulated.
  

• We show an obsolete nationalist pride in the face of criticism from other countries, which does not allow us to appreciate our limitations, disadvantages and weaknesses in education and social order, as well as in the causes of the inadequate and inefficient functioning of public institutions and services.
  

• We prefer to express our anger and claim against the rich countries, rather than against ourselves and our rulers, for the ineptitude, corruption, deceit and mistakes that have been repeatedly made in the economy and society.
  

• We reinforce an incoherent national pride, which makes us believe that we do not need the help or advice of other countries to overcome some of the problems we face.
  

• We tend not to claim or pressure the rulers for their responsibility in generating many problems, because we have assumed and accepted their arguments and excuses that rich countries are to blame for our poverty and underdevelopment.
  

• Much of the lower class has assumed underdevelopment and poverty as a way of life, which has shaped their passive and pessimistic behavior, which affects their productivity and generates a heavy social burden.
  

• The lack of financial resources allocated to research in universities has made the teaching model developed obsolete and lacking in innovation and competitiveness with respect to modern forms of learning.
  

• The instructional scheme at all educational levels instills linear thinking, which prevents students from developing creative, critical or lateral thinking skills; which limits his intellectual development and analytical skills.
  

• The lower social class seems to be educated to consider the accumulation of wealth as the fundamental purpose of life, instead of considering that material progress is not the ultimate goal but the means to develop and achieve well-being.
  

• Citizens do not strongly protest the failure of economic policies or the inefficiency of public services, because they do not believe they can be improved since they have accepted the excuses and justifications of the rulers. Historically, public services in the country have been limited, inefficient and problematic, so it is difficult to assume or believe, that at some point they can improve and fully meet the needs and expectations of users.
  

• Attitudes of acceptance, resignation and pessimism in the face of underdevelopment and poverty, are transmitted involuntarily from parents to children, which makes it difficult to induce new ways of thinking, unless profound changes in the structure of the education system are induced.
  

• The selfish and irresponsible attitude of politicians has not changed in many years. They only show an apparent interest in the country's problems when they are in electoral campaigns. But once they win the elections, they forget what was promised and justify their inefficiency using the well-known criterion that it is difficult to overcome underdevelopment and poverty, because rich countries are responsible for it.
  

• Economic underdevelopment and poverty for so many years seems to have nullified the ability of much of the population to analyse and think critically, objectively and positively. Poor education and training seem to reinforce the idea that none of us is responsible for these problems.
  

• For many years, politicians have persistently disappointed citizens and taken inappropriate measures that lead to greater problems and imbalances. However, much of the population continues to trust them under the belief or hope, that at some point, some politician will stop cheating people, keep his promises and can solve the country's problems.
  

• Salaries and pensions are usually low, so active workers and pensioners do not have many options and opportunities to obtain economic and social welfare.
  

• The lack of education and training of a large part of the population leads to the violation of the basic laws that regulate the social order, so that the existence of people's rights and duties becomes a simple theoretical exercise. This is complicated by the incompetence of the authorities to demand compliance with the laws, resulting in great social confusion.
  

• Economic activities are not properly regulated, so many companies exercise dominant and speculative actions in the markets, which damage the economy, make competitiveness disappear and generate intense imbalances between consumers and producers.
  

• Governments do not assume that they are elected to work for and on behalf of citizens. Their actions are generally identified with the exploitation of power and the achievement of privileges. Politicians do not assume responsibility for their failures, clumsiness or inability to maintain or increase the social and economic welfare of the country.
  

• The proper functioning of public services, especially with regard to social security, are not priority elements or conditions for governments, and citizens are generally unprotected or disadvantaged by the recurrent failure of government management.
  

• Rulers generally show misuse of the power conferred upon them by citizens, concentrating on achieving personal privileges and benefits. Corruption and administrative crimes are notable and recurring, but they are almost never punished.
  

• Politicians allude to not being responsible for their failures, clumsiness or inability to maintain social and economic well-being, because external factors prevent it (rich countries). Incredibly, the proper functioning of public services, especially those related to electricity, water and social security, are not priority elements or conditions for governments.
  

• Citizens do not have formal means or processes to claim the lack of protection or affectation due to the incorrect functioning of public services. Nor in the face of undue actions by governments that affect the reasonableness and fair value of economic activities.
  

• Educational programs in primary and secondary schools are not updated with respect to global trends in the improvement of knowledge transmission techniques. In addition, teachers are paid very low salaries, which discourages effort, quality and interest in providing adequate and competitive education to students.
  

• Although there are free public universities, this has not been a competitive advantage in relation to other countries. The limited budgets allocated by the government to these institutions do not allow the development of effective research programs, nor pay attractive salaries to teachers. This has generated that these universities are deeply inefficient institutions in the transmission of wisdom, training and skills.
  

• In the low social stratum, it is not traditional for new generations to obtain adequate professional education, which negatively influences their potential for economic progress and the improvement of their well-being.
  

• It is important to strengthen the social structure by transmitting quality education and training to the new generations, based on strong ethical and moral principles, as well as respect for others.
  

• Many years living in poverty and lack of opportunities has caused many people to be conformist. The deficiency in the functioning of public services seems to be a structural condition, and expecting it to improve seems like a dream. But the only way to achieve the improvement of things is for citizens to make the claim, but it must be done ethically to avoid mockery and disrespect from the rulers.
  

• Despair has caused many to believe that even working and studying, they will never achieve comfort and economic well-being. Although this thinking scheme can be a hard barrier to overcome, it is important that people do not limit their efforts since honest work and good academic preparation are true and recognizable achievements.
  

• The moral authority of the citizen originates when he behaves ethically and politely, and when he fulfills his obligations and respects the laws and others. This generates the right and capacity of citizens to demand that the rulers fulfill their functions, solve the problems and promote the economic improvement of the country. When this is multiplied in the attitude of many citizens, a society with sufficient ethical and moral authority is achieved, which can claim and demand their rights.
  

• It is necessary to accept and intensify the idea that the rulers are our employees, since we choose them to perform a very important task for society. If they do not, and abuse our trust, presenting excuses that hide their incapacity, irresponsibility or corruption, we must properly claim and punish them through a fair legal system.
  

• It is true that business activity is essential for economic growth in any country. But the activities of companies must be properly regulated and controlled, to avoid abuse and dominant positions against the rights of consumers. Arrogance, power and greed, tend to dominate entrepreneurs, forgetting respect for human beings and society.
  

• The regulation of economic activities by the government is a fundamental element for the social order. The government must ensure the achievement of a fair and rational balance in the functioning of markets and institutions. The objective of all this is to achieve an equitable distribution of wealth and generate the highest degree of economic and social well-being. In any circumstance, the economy must be at the service of man and society, and not vice versa.