From the political, economic and social spheres, Venezuela is today a nation divided into two very different parts. The South American country has been politically polarized for almost 20 years, and socio-economic inequalities are becoming more pronounced.
It is no longer just about opponents and Chavists, but the most tangible reality is that of social classes. A majority in extreme poverty which, according to various studies, reaches 80% of the population and a small group that can access certain “privileges”.
Some economists and politicians see the latter sector as an “elite” group that has become richer, while others point out that it is the rest of a middle class that, they say, is on the verge of extinction and for which there is no official data. , because revenues are not public and there is no proper definition.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS?
According to the latest study on the Venezuelan middle class, published in February last year by the consulting firm Anova Policy Research, the average real income of this sector of society, “regardless” of the definition of the concept used, has fallen by more than 70% since 2010.
“Even today, about 9 out of 10 families considered middle class at the beginning of the decade are no longer so,” adds the company’s document, which uses various concepts to define it, including a 2011 World Bank study that sees this sector as income-generating. which allow them to protect themselves in negative events and with a certain degree of economic stability.
This theory sets the lower income threshold at $ 10 per capita per day and the upper threshold at $ 50, adjusted for purchasing power parity. According to data and the company, the percentage of the population living with this income range has gone from 62.0% in 2010 to 15.5% in 2020.
The consulting firm clarifies that, in order to conclude the “sudden and sustained” fall of the middle class, it has merged several theories and NGO surveys in Venezuela on households and points out that erosion for this sector began in 2013 with “Income shock”.
Since that year, Venezuela has faced a severe economic contraction that experts in the area are bringing to the policies implemented by the government of the late President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) and which continued with his successor Nicolás Maduro.
Economist and former MP Ángel Alvarado sums up these policies in three: the destruction of economic rights (the lowering of the minimum wage to date is less than a dollar, the expropriation of companies and with it the disappearance of jobs), the indebtedness and destruction of the oil industry.
The middle class “is practically destroyed when jobs are destroyed and jobs are destroyed when the economy enters an economic contraction,” says Alvarado, who claims that this sector has “disappeared” in Venezuela.
disparities
In the Caribbean, there are sectors in large cities where the crisis seems non-existent. The growth of new small businesses, the sale of imported products and new vehicles – an industry paralyzed for years – are an example of this sector of society that has certain privileges.
There are people who, in addition, have access to foreign exchange and better quality of services, despite the fact that they fail at the national level. Their purchasing power allows them to combat power outages with power plants, to pay for a water truck to cope with the lack of this resource or a more stable internet service than the state.
But despite the fact that it has the purchasing power to combat the ravages of the crisis, their living conditions are also affected, as there are inevitable situations even with money.
The other large sector can hardly access any of these “privileges.” According to data from the Living Conditions Study (Encovi), conducted by universities in the country, 80% of the population lives in extreme poverty.
The study considers the minimum income of the population, malnutrition, services, education, employment or living conditions, among others.
These people do not get a basket of basic food, much less consume protein, such as red meat or chicken, and have to face days without water, electricity, gas or the internet.