He is Venezuelan and Portuguese. His friends who have migrated insist that he look for new opportunities abroad. But Xavier is calculating, and for now, he does not believe he can get the shelter and stability that he has in Venezuela in another country

By Grisha Vera

Xavier turned 35 in August, and he also celebrated his third wedding anniversary. But the relationship had a break. She wants to leave Venezuela, and he does not.

Of course, that was not the only reason. Also, the messy, the personalities,  not having lived alone as a couple, the differences. But love is still there, he says. They tried to move in by themselves and also went to therapy.  He says he tried everything but to migrate. 

It's not easy for Xavier to make decisions. He analyzes the means, the opportunities, and the possible consequences of his actions. "My ex-wife is not even thinking in the possibilities of not doing well. It's ok, you may be optimistic, but you have to be realistic as well. Migrate is a random thing. 50-50  of chances."

His ex-wife tried to follow the example of some friends, and she decided to migrate. But Xavier disagreed: "Those friends have been living around six years abroad. They migrated with savings. They have a house in Portugal, so they do not have to pay rent. Furthermore, they could resist a lot. Also, they migrated in good times for Europe, but amid a pandemic? People are getting fired from their jobs, and those who keep them have to make a double shift. This girl- the friend of his ex-wife- is living that situation. She works in a call center, and since the pandemic, she has had to work like 12 hours per day."

Xavier is fond of cars. He says that he learned how to drive and repair them just by watching. The young man wanted to study mechanical engineering, but could not get a place in college. Following the family path, he decided to go for business administration to take care of their own businesses when they had them. During and after his graduation, he held management positions in two tech companies.

Xavier was born in Venezuela in 1986. Four years ago, he also obtained Portuguese nationality. The young man has friends in Spain, Ireland, and Miami who motivate him all the time, just like his ex-wife, to leave the country. Also, he has some assets that he could claim in Portugal, his father's homeland. However, for him, these are not sufficient reasons to emigrate.

Every time his friends ask him to leave Venezuela, he does the math. Numbers are not enough. And it is not only the uncertain economic situation; it seems he would not find shelter abroad. 

"Since we were little, travel abroad meaning go out to enjoy it. It is like you go to a park, and you really have fun, but then, you come back to your house, to your life. So, our country is our home, and the other countries are to visit them, not for living."

Opportunities

The father of Xavier arrived in Venezuela in 1954 when Europe was devastating by World War II. But unlike many of the migrants, his father did not come by necessity but out of the opportunity. According to the National Statistics Institute, between 1940 and 1969, some  21.731 Portuguese migrated to Venezuela.

"Europe was recovering, so my dad came with all those Portuguese, Italians, etc. But my grandfather was in Portugal. He was not financially issues because he had businesses here from before. So they came here to assist those businesses. In other words, that is what he did here, to work in refrigerators that belonged to my grandfather," Xavier says.

During the last decades, millions of Venezuela have left the country looking for jobs, food, or security. Some of them departed walking. Others took the path of the Carlos Cruz Diez artwork in the Maiquetia International Airport. Even when the travel conditions are different, the reasons to leave are pretty much the same: they feel there are no opportunities in Venezuela.

At home, his father did not speak Portuguese because his mother did not allow it. The link with the Portuguese community never grew up. Xavier thinks that the new generation is pretentious and does not identify. 

Xavier is the fifth son of the six in his family. All of them remain in Venezuela.

At the beginning of the pandemic, Xavier started his own business with two friends. They buy biosecurity supplies and sell them online. He trusts in this project and is planning to buy an apartment. However, he says he has not had the opportunities that his father did:

"My dad says you can buy a house with your salary. Can you imagine him in his 30s, with five kids, four cars, two houses? In my almost 35 I only have my car. I do not rule out the idea of leaving the country, but I want to do it when I want."