The weak governance, oppression, and corruption of the illegitimate regime headed by Nicolás Maduro have caused widespread economic suffering and the collapse of society in Venezuela.
The 2019-2020 National Survey of Living Conditions (ENCOVI, in Spanish) — published by researchers at Andrés Bello Catholic University in Caracas — details how basic infrastructure, the labor market, and education have deteriorated since 2014.
The United Nations estimates that 7 million Venezuelans — 25 percent of the population — are in need of humanitarian assistance, while an astonishing 96 percent of Venezuelans live in poverty, according to ENCOVI.
Daily water and electricity are increasingly unavailable, according to the report. Only 77 percent of the population has access to piped running water, and three-quarters of that group say they experience frequent service disruptions. News reports have shown people using standing water in the street for bathing, cooking, and drinking.
Due to the blackouts imposed by the regime and the general degradation of electricity service nationwide, 90 percent of Venezuelans do not have reliable access to electricity. Outside of Caracas in states such as Zulia, Bolívar, and Barinas, lights go out for days at a time.
The data of ENCOVI’s survey show that the Maduro regime’s repression, corruption, and economic mismanagement have driven 44 percent of Venezuela’s working adults into unemployment.
A closer look at that data shows the employment situation is even worse. The number of workers in the formal job sector — jobs with regular hours, wages, and benefits — has dropped from 64 percent to 46 percent since 2015.
Many of those who remain in the formal job sector struggle with severe underemployment, where they cannot earn enough at their regular jobs to feed their families.
As a result, Venezuelans have had to find employment in the informal sector. These workers are not covered by health insurance and don’t have regular wages, leaving millions of Venezuelans struggling to provide for their families. This increase in the informal employment sector corresponds to the steep rise in poverty in the country.
Children are no less affected than their parents. School enrollment across the country has dropped from 12.7 million children to 11 million. Only 60 percent of children regularly attend school.
When asked why they didn’t attend school consistently, children said it was because of the lack of food, water, electricity, and transportation.
“ENCOVI’s results are the sad reflection of the reality of Venezuela’s people,” said Juan Guaidó, Venezuela’s legitimate interim president. “They are not isolated numbers, nor cold numbers, but the reflection of what we Venezuelans suffer at this moment.”