It became one of the richest countries in the world because of its oil, in fact, it was one of the best paid countries in Latin America.
The reality today is catastrophic, the minimum wage is only $23 per month.
But $23 is not enough to cover even the first week of the month, making it impossible to cover basic expenses.
There are families that have not died due to hunger, because there are many fruit trees, and these have served as food for many, including me.
The services are practically useless, we have the worst internet in the world, and there are power outages that last more than 7 hours.
There is not enough water in areas, so the rains, in their season, are the ones who help.
Really, this is the smallest tip of the iceberg of what I can tell you.
In my case, Hive has helped me, as far as it can, to help some and also my family.
Wow - thank you for this. It is really hard for me to even really imagine the type of life you are describing. It is so hard to grasp that in 2022, Venezuela is going through this, there is War in Ukraine and Yemen, as well as how the citizens of Shanghai are currently being treated... and probably many other disappointing situations around the world I don't even know about...
Next to South Africa, we have a neighbouring country called Zimbabwe, which also suffered from massive inflation and an economic collapse. Old people who had saved for retirement then found that their money was worthless and basically have to go back to work two jobs to survive.
Here is South Africa, there is an underlying fear that a similar thing could happen here too. We live our lives in a mixture of that fear as well as a fear of the high crime rate, and more positive feelings like hope (knowing that there is a lot of talent and resourcefulness in this country), and responsibility (to try and make a change for the better), along with a love of the beauty of the country, the vibrancy of its people, and the freedom we still enjoy.