Human Geography and Post-Crisis Agricultural Policy: Insights from the Venezuelan Andes

Abstract / Resumen / Resumo

Venezuela is in shambles. Blocked exchange rates with the dollar and the reduction of crude oil prices have contracted the economy and made essential goods unattainable for most citizens. Food scarcity and malnourishment are common phenomena. According to the survey on living conditions published yearly by a consortium of Venezuelan universities, people report having lost an average of 11kg in 2017 and 80% of households surveyed are food insecure with more than 60% living in extreme poverty (ENCOVI, 2017). Political and social turmoil has engulfed the country since late President Chavez´ health decline in 2012 and death in 2013, and have exacerbated since mid-2017, when the installation of a constituent assembly nullified the role of the parliamentary assembly, leading to the current existence of two governments, the Maduro socialist dictactorship and the Guaido’ interim government recognized by numerous foreign countries. Those who could, especially young people, have left the country. The UNHCR estimated that the number of Venezuelans migrants and refugees as a result of the ongoing crisis had reached 3 million (UNHCR, 2018).