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Venezuelans approved of Presidential trip to Guyana

Sep 05, 2013 Letters

 

Dear Editor,
Thanks for the coverage of President Nicolas Maduro’s trip to Guyana. The people of Guyana and Venezuela welcomed the visit of the Venezuelan President to our shores (see news item KN Sep 1).
I am in Aruba where a lot of Guyanese and Venezuelans are settled and where also thousands of Venezuelans are vacationing — most of them are very wealthy and many come to Aruba annually for a vacation.
I get a sense in my conversations with rich Venezuelans that they are not very supportive or fond of President Maduro who, it seems, is more popular among the lower working class and the poor and those who are closely connected with the regime. However, even though nearly half of the Venezuela population is opposed to President Maduro, they support the idea of improved relations with Guyana and other neighbours and they endorse the visit of their President to our country last weekend. They feel the trip will boost economic relations and understanding among our people to reduce conflict and tension on border issues.
One cannot escape Venezuelans in Aruba as they currently dominate among visitors on the island – on the beaches, in hotels, resorts and restaurants, shopping, cruises, entertainment, etc. — and many also work for higher wages in Aruba than they would in Venezuela. So do Guyanese, who also enjoy a very high standard of living relative to Guyana — an average of about US$1500 a month.
Guyanese and Venezuelans work closely in Aruba in construction and in the tourist industry in Aruba. Since Venezuela is just minutes away from Aruba, which is a very popular vacation destination for them, they prefer Aruba, especially over the last 25 years, instead of Miami.
When I was a college student in NY during the 1970s and 1980s, several Venezuelans were in my classes because money was easily available to seek education abroad.  Also, when I visited Miami during the 1980 and 1990s, I used to bounce up with a lot of Venezuelans on shopping sprees.  For the last ten years, they have been attracted to Panama, Curaçao and Aruba for vacation and cheap shopping similar to Guyanese.
It is easy to strike up a conversation with Venezuelans or other Latinos in Aruba and they come across as very cheerful and warm. They have no problem with Guyana. They are quite friendly and very informed about the politics of their homeland, although not very informed or knowledgeable about Guyana. They are aware that their President visited Guyana, and Latin (South American) news does make the three daily English newspapers (distributed freely on the island) and some are seen reading Venezuelan Spanish newspapers.
Venezuelans are not interested in border conflicts with neighbours and are least interested in political nationalism as in previous decades under their dictatorship.  People are focused on improved lifestyles and tend to be more interested in bread and butter issues.  They want cheaper goods and less government interference in the economy so they can make more money to improve their lifestyle. They look forward to closer relations with Guyana to benefit their economy and their standard of living. They all complain that their standard of living has been declining over the last several years.
They complain about the declining value of their local currency, the Bolivar, and rising prices.  They note, for example, that their currency was devalued by 40% in April to some six to one US dollar (official rate) while the unofficial rate is some 32 to one – somewhat akin to Guyana’s currency decline during the 1980s and pegged against the US dollar.
I applaud and salute President Maduro for taking time out of his hectic schedule to make a State visit to our shores to help improve bilateral relations. No doubt, the people of both of our countries welcome the visit, which it is hoped will lead to improved relations and greater trade, resulting in a better standard of living.
Vishnu Bisram

 

 

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