A stage between instability and economic hardship in Venezuela.

Greetings everyone, this time I wanted to talk a little about this topic, starting from my own experience. Well, I was born and have lived in Venezuela for the 35 years of my life, and I must emphasize that I am not an expert in economics and politics, but even so, I can offer some opinions based on everything I have experienced since I became aware of these issues. It's not a matter of ideologies or who is right, but rather the reality that I have lived for many years, and that millions of Venezuelans have also lived.

Venezuela is known worldwide not for having won the most Miss Universe pageants, but for its oil exploitation and the production of its derivatives. This has been the case from the beginning, and its economic model has been largely based on oil sales. Although countless companies related to the exploitation of minerals such as bauxite, iron, and others have also developed here, the development of its economy has always been based on oil. This has been a great benefit in some ways, but also a curse, simply because its rentier economic model is based solely on oil. This began with the arrival of the United States, which created an entire industry and even planned and built camps across almost the entire country.

I was born in 1990 during a period of some economic crisis, although it was never as drastic as it is now. At least my parents had enough income to get by, so to speak. This was unlike the 1970s, when the country was known as Saudi Arabia, at its peak in oil production and economic prosperity for many families. If you were a young graduate back then, you had many opportunities to get a good job, save money, and soon own your own home. It was undoubtedly a dream economy.

As the 2000s approached, the country experienced one of its peak periods of economic prosperity, with oil prices exceeding $100 per barrel and Venezuela capable of producing approximately 5 million barrels per day. However, due to poor policies, corruption, and weak diplomacy with key nations, everything declined. This was compounded by currency controls imposed on the dollar and excessive printing of the local currency, the bolivar, creating the conditions for the world's highest inflation rate.

During the 2000s, before I went to university, I had a comfortable life. My parents worked for a bauxite mining company and had a good income. We had a good education, food, and even recreation. I also had the opportunity to study for a university degree. But just before finishing my studies, around 2013, everything started to get much more complicated. Everyone was starting to talk a lot about the dollar as a safe haven against the constant devaluation the country was experiencing daily. People were looking for ways to protect their savings, but of course, it wasn't enough for everyone. I started getting jobs and saw my salary getting smaller and smaller, but that was just the beginning.

From 2013 onwards, the country began experiencing significant geopolitical tensions, a series of protests, political disagreements, and a decline in all commerce and businesses. This period marked the beginning of a mass emigration of Venezuelans, who viewed the situation as a major problem. The minimum wage, which until a few years prior had been almost $500 a month, plummeted to $1—a pittance, but that was the reality. During that time, I took on many different jobs, from selling hamburgers with a friend to repairing computers, or occasionally recording videos or taking photos, although the latter were scarce and poorly paid. It was understandable; people were trying to cut costs on any service. From 2013 to 2016, I had to juggle numerous jobs just to survive.

Back in 2016, the country was already showing signs of trouble. The economy was in complete disarray, food shortages were widespread, and wages were severely undervalued. So I had to look for other options. Luckily, I found a freelance job and earned in euros, which was great given the situation we were going through. I stayed in that job for about eight years. It was also during this time that I started learning about cryptocurrencies, another way to earn extra income through trading or certain investments. But even then, it wasn't enough. While I had money, finding food was incredibly difficult, and even traveling from one city to another was an ordeal just to find tickets. But somehow, things worked out in the midst of a country in complete turmoil.

Shortly before the pandemic, the country was recovering, but after the decree, everything ground to a halt, and it seemed like things were only going to get worse. I barely had enough savings to get through the pandemic, which is when I discovered Hive. It was a whole new world for me; sharing your posts and earning rewards was unthinkable until recently, and in a way, it helped us recover after the pandemic.

Now, many of us know what happened a week ago in Venezuela, and many think that things can improve in the future. Of course, I want to believe that's the case, that the entire economic sector of the country will become active again to produce and stabilize the lives of so many Venezuelans who have endured so much hardship. In short, I've never lived in a stable country; it's a constant cycle of problems. Therefore, I hope that everything can progress well; however, this change may be difficult, it may take years or who knows, but what we do know is that in our country there are both the material and human resources for this progress, all that is lacking is the will to build an entire economy for the benefit of all, and not only for Venezuela, but also, I think, for the rest of the world that may also be affected by some crises.

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