Trump’s Venezuela Promise vs. Economic Crisis

CARACAS, Venezuela – While President Trump promises billions in ⁤infrastructure investment and a revived⁢ oil industry following the U.S. capture of former President Nicolás Maduro, many Venezuelans are focused on a more ⁤immediate concern: affording⁤ their next meal.

Ana Calderón,a utility worker in Caracas,says food ⁢prices are skyrocketing. Celery now costs twice what it did just ⁢weeks ago, and a kilogram of meat exceeds 25 times the monthly minimum wage. “Everything is so expensive,”⁣ she says.

Venezuelans are hearing promises of economic prosperity, but their daily lives remain defined‍ by crippling hardship. Economist Luisa Palacios, a Venezuelan native and research scholar at Columbia⁢ University’s Center on Global Energy⁣ Policy, ⁢explains, “They know ⁤that the outlook has significantly changed but they don’t see it yet on the ground. What they’re ⁢seeing is repression. They’re seeing a lot of confusion.” She adds that while people ⁣are hopeful, change won’t be ⁣immediate.

People typically work two, three or more jobs just to survive, and still cupboards and refrigerators are nearly bare. Children go to bed early to avoid the pang of hunger; parents choose between filling a prescription and buying groceries. An estimated eight in 10 people live in poverty.

This desperation has fueled a mass exodus⁤ from the country. Those who remain are largely concentrated in cities⁣ like Caracas. The Catia neighborhood market, once bustling⁣ with shoppers, is ‍now eerily quiet as rising ⁤prices⁣ keep people away.

Neila‍ Roa, a mother‍ selling cigarettes, struggles to keep up with the daily currency fluctuations. “Inflation and more inflation⁣ and devaluation,” she says. “It’s out of control.” ⁣ Roa, stunned by Maduro’s capture, believes it would take “a miracle” ‍to ⁤fix Venezuela’s economy.