Migrar o regresar: el nuevo dilema de los venezolanos

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– Daniel Zambrano, a Caracas resident who dreams of a better future for himself and his family in Spain, where he plans to arrive next year, with the aim of achieving the «mental stability» he claims to have lost in Venezuela, due to difficulties in coping with household expenses, despite having four sources of income. Meanwhile, some of those who had migrated have returned attracted by the slight economic improvement.

The government claims that «thousands» of people abroad «dream of returning», but this 27-year-old young man is focused on obtaining the necessary documents to legally migrate to the European country, where, according to the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE), 21,500 Venezuelan immigrants arrived during the first quarter of 2023.

Official data confirms that, from January to the end of March, Venezuela was the third country – only behind Colombia and Morocco – that contributed the most citizens to Spain.

In Venezuela, «things are excessively expensive. 300 dollars here is nothing and, maybe, in another country it is enough for many other things. I am thinking about my mental stability, about lightening the burden a little,» Zambrano told EFE.

The young man has a hamburger business, in which he leaves two people in charge while he does «many other things,» such as courier work, barbering, and transportation services on his motorcycle in Caracas, all to be able to «provide for the family,» where he lives with his partner and his 6-year-old daughter.

He is constantly on the move, moving from one point in the city to another, «from Monday to Monday,» but what he longs for is to «have a single job» that provides enough for his family to live and «be mentally well,» instead of feeling «stressed every day, looking for what to do» to improve income.

«Many things to improve»

Around 7.32 million Venezuelans have left their country in recent years, according to the Inter-agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (R4V).

The government claims that more than 300,000 people returned to the country on their own from 2020 to last January, and another 30,900 through the Return to the Homeland Plan, implemented in 2018 to facilitate the return of migrants who were victims of xenophobia in recipient countries.

Among the returnees is Klisbely Echezuria, who arrived in Venezuela in July, after five years in Colombia, and although the country she found is different from the one she left in 2018, when hyperinflation reached 130,060%, according to official figures, and there was a widespread shortage of products, «there are still many things to improve,» especially services and high prices, which make her think about emigrating again.

«I would like to live in my country. Who wouldn’t? But with a better economy and basic services. Everything is very expensive,» said 28-year-old Echezuria.

For a while, she lived with several aunts in an apartment without a kitchen, bed, or fan in Urabá, Colombia. Then, she reunited with her husband, also a migrant, in Cali, where she studied to become a «professional technician in artificial nails.»

She worked in at least eight establishments during her stay in the Andean country, mainly hair salons and spas, before doing independent manicure work.

Finally, she decided to return to her country, but for family reasons, unrelated to any work or economic activity.

Family first

Family was also what pushed Freddy Carrero to return to Venezuela with his wife and two stepdaughters, after four years in Colombia.

He arrived in January, when he saw a country «completely» different from that of 2019, still in hyperinflation and recession, so he decided to «put down roots again» in his homeland.

«In 2019, when I left, the supermarkets were still empty. Now you can find food everywhere,» said 30-year-old systems engineer Carrero.

The death of his father in 2021 affected him deeply, especially because he couldn’t be present in his final moments, which made him feel the need to return to be close to his family.

Now, with his income as an administrator in a family business and his wife’s income, he can partially cover «the basics,» which require about $100 per person per month, according to independent estimates.

According to the government, «thousands» of Venezuelans have returned because «the economic situation is starting to improve.» Others, like Echezuria and Carrero, returned for family reasons.

Read also: https://noticialdia.com/internacionales/eeuu-expulso-a-mas-de-145-mil-migrantes-que-llegaron-a-la-frontera-en-los-ultimos-tres-meses/

News of the Day/With information from EFE