Motherland
Daniela M. Casado


Motherland

Venezuela is a country with one of the biggest oil reserves in the world, yet as of today it is ranked as having one of worst economies, greatest inflation rates, and a great amount of external debt. Produced in late 2013, these symbols portray Venezuela’s decadence over the last ten years due to its misleading politics. The symbols provide an insight of the day-to-day situations that Venezuelans have to face, such as insecurity, basic shortage of needs, human rights violations, and media censorship.

I have always found great pride in being a born and raised Venezuelan, in every conversation with a foreigner I would always brag about something from my country, especially the fact that putting gas costs us less than a US dollar, and being citizen of such a privileged country makes me feel privileged myself.

Venezuela is a country fortunate enough to have pretty much all the resources to become a great nation. Its extremely high biodiversity, ranging from Alps and rain forest to plains and a great Caribbean coastline; translates into tools for development. Not to mention of course, the oil reservoir.In 1999 Hugo Chavez won the Presidency, some supported him and some didn’t but regardless of this the most important thing was he had won fair and square. He started developing new policies, constitutional reforms, and less than a decade later the country had drifted away from democracy and the Venezuela I was born was no longer the one I was living in. Restrictions and censorships kept arising along with crimerates, inflation, and poverty index; under Chavez’s revolution of a 21st Century Socialism, the country seemed to be sinking –along with everyone’s morals. We became a nation where money buys anything and a phone is worth more than someone’s life.