Politically, economically and socially, Venezuela is today a nation divided into two very different parts. The South American country has been politically polarized for nearly 20 years and socio-economic inequality is growing.
It is no longer just about opponents and chavistas, but the most tangible reality is that of social classes. A majority living in extreme poverty reaching 80% of the population according to various studies, and a small group having access to certain “privileges”.
Some economists and politicians see the latter sector as an “elite group” that has gotten richer, while others point out that it is the rest of a middle class that they say is on the verge of disappearance and for which no official records exist, because income is not public, nor is there a proper definition.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS?
According to the most recent study on the Venezuelan middle class, published last February by the consulting firm Anova Policy Research, the real average income of this sector of society, “regardless” the definition of the concept used, has fallen by more than 70%. since 2010.
“And today, about 9 out of 10 families that were considered middle class at the start of the decade are no longer,” adds the company’s document that uses several concepts to define it, including a World Bank study. from 2011 in which this sector is regarded as a sector that has an income that allows it to protect itself against negative events and with a degree of economic stability.
This theory sets the lower limit of income at $ 10 per capita per day and the upper limit at $ 50 adjusted for purchasing power parity. According to this data and the company’s data, the percentage of the population living on this income has increased from 62.0% in 2010 to 15.5% in 2020.
The consultancy clarifies that in order to come to the conclusion of the “abrupt and persistent” fall of the middle class, it has conducted a fusion of several theories and NGO surveys in Venezuela on households and points out that the erosion for this sector started in 2013 with the “income shock”.
Since that year, Venezuela has been facing a severe economic contraction that experts in the area are citing on the policies of the government of the late President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) and that has continued with his successor Nicolás Maduro.
The economist and former deputy Ángel Alvarado summarizes this policy in three: the destruction of economic rights (the drop in the minimum wage to date is less than a dollar, the expropriation of companies and with it the loss of jobs), the country is over indebtedness and destruction of the oil industry.
The middle class “is essentially destroyed when jobs are destroyed and jobs are destroyed when the economy goes into economic contraction,” said Alvarado, who said that this sector in Venezuela “has disappeared”.
THE DISPARITY
In the Caribbean country, there are sectors in major cities where the crisis does not seem to exist. The emergence of small new businesses, the sale of imported products and brand-new vehicles – an industry that has been paralyzed for years – are examples of this sector of society that has certain privileges.
They are people who also have access to foreign exchange and better quality of service, despite failing at the national level. Their purchasing power allows them to combat power outages with power plants, pay for a water truck to cope with the lack of this resource, or a more stable internet service than the one offered by the state.
But despite having the purchasing power to fight the ravages of the crisis, their quality of life is also affected, as there are inevitable situations even with money.
The other major sector barely has access to these “privileges”. According to data from the Living Conditions Survey (Encovi) conducted by universities in the country, 80% of the population lives in extreme poverty.
The study takes into account, among other things, the minimum income of the population, malnutrition, services, education, employment or housing conditions.
These people are not given a basic food basket, let alone to consume protein, such as red meat or chicken, and they have to endure days without water, electricity, gas or the Internet.