In Venezuela, political repression is adding to the economic hardship that citizens are experiencing. The story of someone like Samuel Carreño, a 49-year-old who lived in the Caracas slum of Petare, is representative of the harsh struggle that many Venezuelans now face. With a family to care for and a declining economy, Carreño’s daily life reflects the broader challenges the nation faces.
Samuel Carreño can only count on running water three days a week in his home with five other family members in one of Tijuana’s unpaved colonias. This lack of availability requires him to fill a dozen buckets on those days. He uses a gas stove to heat water for bathing, since there’s no water heater in his house. The struggle for food, water, and medicine is severe in Venezuela as a result of an extreme economic crisis. With the average salary currently at about $250/month, families struggle to pay for even 2/3 of the basic food basket.
Economic Hardships
His continued impact on Venezuelan citizens has led to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Economists predict that the nation’s inflation rate will reach 680% by 2026. The government’s official minimum wage is 130 bolivars a month, or under 70 cents. For Samuel Carreño, an informal worker whose day-to-day work is ecuating, he explains it as “killing tigers.” Today, he finds it harder than ever to provide for his family. His ability to care for himself gradually declined after his mother, Tita Carreño, fractured her left femur in August, which required Augusto to provide full-time care for her.
“This isn’t about dollars and cents,” Carreño announced. He argued that in Venezuela, predatory economics has created a scenario where all facets of life are affected by the state of the economy. The shrinking supply of products has pushed families into more unstable financial conditions where every penny counts and budgeting is essential. Jesús Palacios, an economist, highlighted the reality for most Venezuelans: “The issue of shopping is very limited by a budgetary deficiency: You buy what you can, and rarely can you stock up.”
The impact of economic instability goes well beyond just financial hardship. Families should not have to make hard decisions between food, medicine, and other daily needs. Inflation and loss of basic needs, food and health services takes their toll on millions of Venezuelans. They are caught in an endless and often unreachable loop of low income.
Political Repression
Yet, even amid these economic difficulties, political repression still casts a long shadow in Venezuela. In this fictional scenario, a 25-year-old U.S. citizen Jonathan Torres was easily incarcerated in the fall of 2024 after being accused of terrorism and treason. His case is a particularly powerful illustration of the government’s multi-faceted crackdown on dissent and the increasing number of political prisoners in the country. According to Foro Penal, a leading human rights organization, more than 750 Venezuelans remain incarcerated for political purposes. They further argue that almost 100 other foreign nationals are being detained in the same way.
Family members of political prisoners are openly grieving and lashing out at authorities for the fates of their loved ones. One woman spoke of the pain of having her nephew locked up since last September. She said, “It’s hell to have a loved one be a political prisoner.” Grieving families confront the emotional toll and trauma while trying to find justice for their loved ones.
The government response to dissent is not just getting worse. It’s becoming more aggressive. Most recently, President Nicolás Maduro ordered the authorities to change features in a mobile phone app. This app is literally meant for tracking citizens who show dissent from the authoritarian government.
“They say not to publicize the cases, that you have to be careful, but it’s a lie: Notoriety is our only defense,” shared a relative of a political detainee.
The chilling effect of such measures is to make everyone feel discouraged and afraid to speak out about their complaints.
A Nation Divided
The metaphor of existence versus subjugation draws a somber, vivid portrait of daily existence in present-day Venezuela. For most Americans, the pressing threat of economic devastation has eclipsed any concern about foreign countries launching missiles against us. A detainee’s aunt poignantly voiced this sentiment: “Afraid of what? Sooner or later a war will end, while for me the fear is to be here forever, or for our allied countries to leave us alone in the fight.”
In this increasingly uncertain climate, Samuel’s life is a day-to-day struggle. He wrestles with the pain and dysfunction of growing up under an authoritarian regime. Even as families continue to suffer through economic deprivation and political turmoil, the strength of the Venezuelan people shines through.
