How much does it cost to live in Venezuela? This is a rhetorical question that many have asked us in the country and on occasions other people outside of Venezuela have asked me as well. The answer to this question does not have a single point of approach and that is what makes it difficult to answer.

In my country we can find a large number of situations that can be defined as risk factors that affect the livelihood of any citizen, such as the socioeconomic, sociocultural environment, education and literacy level, psycho social risk factors plus the recent biological risk due to cause of Covid-19, all this without talking about the political environment. And if we break down each of these aspects in detail, we will find a large number of variables to analyze and discuss, this exhibition would have no end and could be translated into a "Bestseller".

If we concentrate solely on identifying the patterns of the local economy, we will find a large number of people who have lost their jobs long before the recent lockdown caused by the pandemic, we will also find many people who have dropped out of school to work and collaborate with the economy of their homes, and in contrast to this there are also a large number of professionals who cannot work in their specialty and have opted for an enterprise that generates enough income to cover the “basic expenses at home” and I would like to talk about this a bit.

The basic and minimum expenses to maintain a home can vary from one city to another, from one home to another.

For example, in a home anywhere in the world it is required to make weekly or daily food purchases, services such as water, electricity, cell phone, gas, internet and cable TV must be paid, there are also expenses for education of children, expenses for personal hygiene supplies and home maintenance, expenses for public transportation, medicines and medical consultations, rentals, etc .; and this list can be extended according to the particular criteria of the head of the family.

If we assign a reference to it, we would be talking about an average cost of at least $ 130 per month (for reference), in some cases a little more and in other cases it may be less.

The great contrast is found when trying to illustrate that the official monthly minimum wage of a Venezuelan is 2,400,000 Bs per month, this is something like 2.22 USD per month (considering the official rate of today 12-10-20). In other cases it could be just a little bit more. And this brief reference forces a second question.

Although the question seems redundant, it is important to point out that the Venezuelan as such is an "excellent individual", the Venezuelan likes to work and undertake productive activities and this is the perception of a third party when they meet some of our countrymen. The problem possibly lies in "the facts and the journey" that we have traveled as a nation to the state in which the country is currently, all being affected in some way.

Although, the accounts are not fair when comparing the minimum survival expenses with the minimum income of a worker, it is also true that the Venezuelan always finds alternatives to generate additional income, sacrificing the time that he can dedicate to his family, sacrificing hours of sleep and rest, sacrificing their studies, traveling great distances walking from home to their workplace, among other cases. It is worth mentioning that many times, a lot of time is invested in acquiring basic items such as food at a better price, or more recently, investing up to 5 days in a queue to acquire gasoline for vehicles.

All these "situations", although they are assumed with great humor and great disposition (this is one of our strengths), it must be taken into account that they translate into time and "time is money", as the famous phrase says; and in some cases they have resulted in diseases, injuries and even human losses, just to mention some cases that could represent the cost of living in Venezuela. And if you notice it, in no case has it been mentioned what the causes of this reality are.

I close with a question for reflection and another question to find out your opinions:

This is my first official participation in Project.Hope, I hope you like it and I want to read your opinions, the feedback enriches the knowledge and stimulates the participation in the platform.