Two Years

Two years ago this month, I traveled around Venezuela to cover the economic and political crisis. At that time, it was difficult to fathom the unraveling of Venezuela, a country once so drenched in oil wealth that the Concorde flew direct between Paris and Caracas. 

I wrote an article for Forbes about Venezuelan entrepreneurs, many of whom had lost their formal jobs and had little choice but to start a business. They used ingenious strategies to get by, often exploiting the low cost of labor and the plummeting black market exchange rates.

I shadowed a Venezuelan motivational speaker and published piece in Quartz about that industry. Along the way, I learned that an utter void of functioning institutions can, to some, look like opportunity. I also made some people at Chevron PR unhappy. An excerpt:

“To stay in Venezuela is not the same as failure. To leave Venezuela is not the same as success.” Stephan Kaiser’s voice echoes between two walls of soaring, mirrored glass. The gangly young man’s gleaming teeth, white-blonde hair and tailored suit lend him a television-ready sheen that set him apart from his audience.

In front of him, a group of twenty Chevron administrators bob their assent and straighten in their chairs. They are gathered in the atrium of an enormous mansion reserved for executive events in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela. Chevron has hired Kaiser to motivate them ...

... “Ironically, the crisis has gone really well for us,” Kaiser shrugs on the drive to the Chevron venue. Tens of thousands have attended his motivational seminars this year; 6,000 Amway sales representatives, another 1,000 from Tupperware. He is fully booked in the weeks leading up to the election, despite tripling his speaking fees (in real terms). “Well,” he concludes, “we are selling the solutions.”

In 2015, this quantity of bolivares was worth $2.00 USD. A week's trip required a separate suitcase for money. Two years later, the same stack is worth under $0.02.

Today, things are undoubtedly more difficult in Venezuela. Hospital shortages, a lack of policing and political violence have made the country an even deadlier place.

But it's still one where ingenuity and hope are found. An award-winning anti-violence program transforms neighborhoods. Coders boost their meager wages through remote work. If Venezuela's crisis feels endless, then so do its resilience and invention.