1 of 8 What has changed in Venezuela in the last 10 years (and what has not changed) Photo: GETTY IMAGES What has changed in Venezuela in the last 10 years (and what has not changed) Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Sometimes they ask jokingly and ironically, because the deep crisis that Venezuela experienced between 2016 and 2018 has eased but is far from resolved.
And sometimes they ask with the memory of a better past: this was one of the richest and most prosperous countries in Latin America, and today it is one of the poorest.
Within a decade, the Venezuelan economy shrank by 75% and almost a quarter of the population (7 million out of a total of 30 million) left the country.
These are traumatic processes that inevitably arouse nostalgia, both for the country that no longer seems to exist and for the distance between those who stayed and those who left.
A good example of this nostalgia that moves Venezuelans is “Caracas en el 2000” (Caracas in the year 2000, in free translation), the country's current song, which is about the macaws flying over the capital, the Sunday bike ride along a leafy, mountainous ring road, the CocaCola slushies sold on the street, and the other typical establishments where expatriates in this case the Caraqueños no longer live.
Behind every nostalgic exercise is the idea that something has been lost.
And yes, of course: Venezuela is no longer as rich as it was in the 1960s or 1970s, but it is also not as poor as it was in 2018. The currency is now the dollar, there are restaurants as expensive as in New York, and gasoline is now paid so dearly.
In a country that once had a generous, redistributive state and a relatively established middle class, inequality, poverty and inefficiency now dominate the landscape.
And the economy in general is constantly changing.
But there is also a lot that doesn't change: neither the politics nor the infrastructure changes the way people want. And Venezuelans, those resilient, happy and friendly people, remain as playful as ever.
2 of 8 macaws continue to monitor the skies over Caracas Photo: GETTY IMAGES Macaws continue to monitor the skies over Caracas Photo: GETTY IMAGES
The sound of the frogs at the beginning of the hot night in the Venezuelan capital does not change either.
There is also no change in the initiatives of the residents of Caracas to honor them: last year, an artist collective called SoundScape recorded a map of the city's current sounds and published it on the Internet.
There are frogs, but also macaws and street vendors.
3 of 8 “Caracas en el 2000”, sung by Danny Ocean and Elena Rose, is a hit that provoked reflection and repercussions Photo: BBC Caracas en el 2000, sung by Danny Ocean and Elena Rose, is a hit that provoked reflection and caused aftereffects Photo: BBC
This lively street doesn't change, where street vendors wear sandals with socks and wear huge mirrored glasses modeled after those of the Gucci brand.
A mother and her daughter go for a walk with their hair dyed the same red.
And a young man with a large watch and hair shaved on one side but greasy on top sells deodorants, ignoring the inevitable suspicion that they are being used.
The mornings of dominoes on the courts do not change, where people old and young play under the eyes of dozens of other wellcoiffed and elegant players who comment, judge and fight.
Meanwhile, next door, a young man is reading a Bible and some ladies are giving evangelical teachings, a trend that has actually increased significantly in the country.
It also doesn't change the feeling of living in a fictional reality: a building in the middle of an industrial area has no windows despite having a balcony.
A child leaves karate class through the same door in a dark bar.
And some ladies take a spinning class on a patio with loud music blaring two blocks away.
It does not change human warmth. The best way to convey trust in Venezuela is with what would constitute an insult in most countries around the world: a physical touch, a touch on the shoulder.
And they don't change anything that could change in other countries.
In Venezuela, for example, it is still possible to see advertisements for beer and beauty products on huge billboards on highways, promoted by slim, voluptuous and halfnaked women; an image that is already unusual in other parts of the world and remains there.
The tendency to queue also remains. Now it's no longer about buying oil or flour, because shortages have been alleviated by de facto dollarization, but about signing up for a new electricity payment system.
For years, electricity was almost free, but now a fee is charged for it, although many regions still experience daily power outages.
So the service doesn't change, but the price does.
4 out of 8 In Venezuela there is almost always a queue; Now you have To with Corpoelec, the energy supplier Photo: BBC In Venezuela there is almost always a queue; Now you need To with Corpoelec, the energy supplier Photo: BBC
And everything that works reasonably well in the capital is worse in the rest of the country, where poverty is greater and services are poorer. The inequality between the capital and the interior has therefore not changed.
The inefficiency of the system, which creates unusual distortions, has not changed either.
For example: To get into the Caracas subway, there are now two lines, one for buying the ticket and the other for waiting when the turnstiles leave a free entrance after someone passes by.
It's not that the system is designed to give out free tickets indiscriminately, it's that the turnstiles create an error that is already normalized.
Distortions can be the result of a malfunctioning system. And Venezuelans are adapting; perhaps with resignation, but also with good humor and creativity.
5 out of 8 Left a lighter seller. On the right a seller of “combos”, bags of sweets and candies Photo: BBC On the left a seller of lighters. On the right a seller of “combos”, bags of sweets and treats Photo: BBC
Because dollarization has not been made official by the state, it has become more profitable for many Venezuelans to have informal jobs paid in dollars than formal jobs paid in bolivars.
The trend has led to repair work, street vending, digital gambling on video games, and doortodoor craft and home shops.
The impact of this new informal sector is so great that, according to research firm Datanalisis, nearly 4 million people have risen through “creative entrepreneurship” in the last three years.
“We have seen the emergence of a new middle class that does not have higher education, does not have formal work, but still has access to resources and a certain quality of life,” explains Luis Vicente León, director of the company.
The analyst says that the Venezuela case “is like having good teeth, you put braces on them to make them ugly, and when the treatment ends, the teeth want to be good again through inertia.”
6 of 8 Photo: BBC Photo: BBC
Venezuelans, children of a former oil power, have a long history of consumption, an entrepreneurial character and a happy and enthusiastic outlook on life.
Once the economy was reactivated by dollarization, they took to the streets to see what they could come up with.
That's why you'll find streets full of street vendors selling ice cream, shoes or beauty products to tropical music and playful dancing.
That's why there's a bingo boom happening across the country. This is because there are new and successful establishments that sell pasticho (a type of lasagna) and cachito (a type of croissant filled with ham and cheese), two typical foods.
That's why 16% of the population starts a new business, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, a think tank.
It is not as if the structural problems precarious services, high inflation, deteriorating infrastructure, hospitals without supplies have been solved.
It's just a matter of getting used to it, says León: “Once you get used to it, the problems don't seem so different anymore and what used to bother you bothers you less now.”
On the contrary, he adds: “You start to appreciate the things you no longer value: nature, parties, people, etc.”
Over the last decade, crime has made Venezuela one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
But now, after a controversial hardliner security policy, the feeling of insecurity has subsided. This is another change that for many is only temporary.
But this trend has helped many Venezuelans return to the country; most of them not to stay but to visit.
7 out of 8 Bingos and lotteries are on the rise Photo: GETTY IMAGES Bingos and lotteries are on the rise Photo: GETTY IMAGES
“Spoken Malandro” is a street dialect that Venezuelans inside and outside the country have converted into everyone's slang, a rare and perhaps paradoxical flag of Venezuelanness.
You can hear this in the tone and lyrics of the song Caracas en el 2000.
Examples of malicious expressions include “te da frío, gafa” to say “You're scared, man” and “picarle la pie” to criticize excessive bowing to those in power.
Coromotto Hernández is an influencer who speaks the language of fraud and tries to use popular culture to identify these facets that Venezuelans have adopted when they took to the streets to solve their crisis.
“It is not an excuse for illegality, but for people to take ownership of the streets and identify with this creativity in solving problems,” he explains.
Coromotto believes it's one thing to normalize problems “accepting a mattress to be transported on a motorcycle” and another to find humor and opportunity in crisis.
“Those of us who stayed turn around and continue drinking Malta.” [uma bebida de malte não alcoólica] and enjoy the macaws,” he says.
In other words: Venezuela has changed, but not in everything. And the CocaCola slushie is still as sweet as ever.
8 out of 8 Sabana Grande Boulevard in Caracas looks like a party right now. Some say: “It’s always been that way” Photo: BBC Sabana Grande Boulevard in Caracas currently looks like a party. There are those who say: “It has always been this way” Photo: BBC