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I have been thinking deeply about how everything has unfolded to produce such an outcome.
It is not like it was unexpected that things would hit bottom before starting to improve slowly.
And I can´t help but give thanks for having the mindset to be as prepared as one can be, even within our limited means and our meager resources.
Regarding such an outcome, it’s not like it is a bad one; on the contrary. A liberation movement has begun, only seen in countries of the former (and thankfully extinct) Soviet Union sphere.
This should lead to a real era of freedom that we never experienced before. Even though when we were known as the United States of Venezuela back in the 40s – a country that not too many people still alive remember.
However, the consequences of an agonizing system are fearful. The organization behind the power grab is anything but democratic. Under the excuse of the “Revolution,” they violated every article of our Constitution and laws for years. They are already doing whatever they can to keep control, even if that means derivating to a Pol Pot-like regime.
They follow the Cuban model, but the difference is huge…because Venezuelans know what democracy and freedom feel like.
This preamble was only to explain the consequences of the political struggle we’re going through, and how we have been dealing with them.
Here are the consequences of the situation right now.
I don’t even dare to walk with my kid in the streets, even though there is very little (known) news of kids being kidnapped in this area, and I have been monitoring the media extensively every day. It’s not worth the risk, though. In other parts of the country, the number of minors in jail is supposedly over one hundred.
The food supply is unstable regarding some products, like beef. I could get some ground meat because I was there just in time after the arrival of a delivery truck. Very freshly ground beef meat, although not my favorite, but still good protein. We have switched to consuming more Buffalo cheese, which is great, and cheaper than beef cheese. I buy it from a seller with a kiosk on the street, so it’s fresh and abundant. That guy sells butter and cream, also. Good product and fair price make it a good choice, within walking distance.
Why is it dangerous to be outside?
The reason is simple. Armed groups are roaming in unidentified pickup trucks with masked guys toting guns. Even the regular armed bodies feel entitled to do a body search, will take your phone, will ask you badly to unlock it, and if you have compromising conversations or pictures you will be screwed. Nothing new: this official terrorist policy has been used for quite some time already but it is now much more common. “Rights”? this has been suspended for years now.
There is no chance that a General Attorney will receive a complaint and make it to the Court. They will politely receive it if you are someone with some “weight,” but the next step will be throwing it in a drawer and forgetting it. I leave my phone at home because of this. I do have in my memory five important telephone numbers, including a couple of friends, my kid’s phone, and a couple of human rights organizations to immediately inform any event or deviation of the standard interaction with uniformed people. This is why they are looking to force the NGOs to work within their totalitarian approach with express “laws” like this one.
Mind you, there was some time back in recent history when it was “legal” to beat people and burn down their shops because of their religion in Germany…and we all know how that ended.
How this oppressive status quo is going to work with a rejection (in real terms) over the 90%, is going to be “interesting” to see. Things are already so tense that any sudden move could bring unexpected consequences in the right places. Social pressure is building up, and unless it is properly channeled to the right sectors (the stormtroopers you have seen shooting unarmed civilians in the videos, for instance) it’s going to be a huge mess once it’s relief.
Advice
- You need a vehicle. Even though we can find most of whatever we need within a 30-minute walk, not having a good reliable vehicle is out of the question. This should be:
- Fuel Efficient
- Easy to maintain for yourself
- Reliable and sturdy. With the storms we have in the rainy season, you can’t allow yourself to be dragged by a furious torrent. This is one of the best places to live in Venezuela: the mountains surrounding Caracas. This area is blessed with wonderful weather always in the range of 20°-25°C, with lots of vegetation and mostly sunny. However, this is what happens in the storm season.
- Inconspicuous and with a couple of safe boxes oblivious to the naked eye.
- You need a place in a safe location. This place has to be:
- Far away from the most frequented roads.
- Well stocked up (too obvious, but I think on the new readers that joined the crowd after the 2020 wake-up call).
- Must have some good quality permanent water source or a reservoir at least.
- Make sure to have some means of cleaning and purifying water for safe drinking.
- Wastewater management means so it can be safely disposed of.
Albeit being in a gated subdivision, the volatility of the situation and the neighbors snitching just out of hatred for having lost so massively a process that should be democratic makes some neighbors feel very unsafe. These are people with severe emotional and perhaps even mental issues, and they will throw the wolf pack just out of hate towards anyone they feel like. Just because their utopia never existed. Yes, this is happening.
They used to be the food rationing scheme “chiefs,” which conceded them some degree of “authority” – which is now non-existent. That’s why they are spreading terror. The same KGB “system” was used in the infamous Cold War era in Stalin’s Soviet Union.
The status quo in Venezuela
Grim awful times apart, let’s describe objectively the current status quo down here.
- You need some extra income to pay for basic needs. Achievement of full self-sufficiency is a myth. Unless you can perform surgery on yourself without anesthesia. Providing for your most basic needs will mean working your backside off. The human body has limits. Community and wise resource management is the key here, and considering that good people around you are important. As an example: my AC stopped working. It leaked and suddenly needed a gas refilling. My former boss works on that as a side business: his salary as a middle-level manager in the crippled oil&gas industry is not enough. So, we agreed and will pay him with products to avoid the fee losses upon exchanging from my main income source to our local currency. It works for both of us. The economy is so stagnant that the only thing holding us afloat is the meager income from those with independent businesses (also struggling) or those with salaries (a depressing minority). Hardly anybody is buying anything different from basic foods.
- If you have valuables to transport to your BOL, get a security chest in your car or one of your cars that won’t be seen at first glance. An electronic lock or a similar setup is a good idea. If it has a key lock, it should not be seen even if the carpet or seats are removed. A battered wooden tools box with a fake bottom and a magnetic sliding lock maybe?
- The more time you are in a city, your exposure level to some aggression increases. The larger the city, the more exposed you will be. This is regardless of how “civil” your city, town or location is. As I write this, you perfectly know (or should know) there are guys marching aggressively in London armed with sticks and machetes. A building where you could fortify every single entrance seems to be a good choice, if you don’t want to live in the sticks for some reason and you have the means. You can then select the space to make it your living headquarters, and a huge rooftop to collect rainwater and have some greenies, a chicken coop and stuff. If some readers have this experience it would be great to know what they think. I know that hardly anybody would be kicking down doors in an industrial area, where the “enemies of the State” are not supposed to live in.
The best advice?
- Try to keep a “countryside house” or a similar place where you can stay once things get uncomfortable.
- Keep it stocked, well-guarded, and secure some means to arrive there.
Eventually, things will likely settle down.
I never could re-stock my pantry again, after I left in 2017 with only the clothes in my suitcase, and my laptop to keep writing and try to make a living out of that. Not that I regret it, but staying put could have been a better idea. I guess that we would never know.
We are deeply grateful for your generous sponsorship, which has enabled us to put food on our table. May a thousand blessings be upon you.
Stay safe and keep tuned!
J.
About Jose
Jose is an upper middle class professional. He is a former worker of the oil state company with a Bachelor’s degree from one of the best national Universities. He has an old but in good shape SUV, a good 150 square meters house in a nice neighborhood, in a small but (formerly) prosperous city with two middle size malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival stories from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. Jose and his younger kid are currently back in Venezuela, after the intention of setting up a new life in another country didn’t go well. The SARSCOV2 re-shaped the labor market and South American economy so he decided to give it a try to homestead in the mountains, and make a living as best as possible. But this time in his own land, and surrounded by family, friends and acquaintances, with all the gear and equipment collected, as the initial plan was.
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