C.E. - Rise of Chávez Sends Venezuelans to Florida

[Gregory Hewett]

January 23, 2008

Rise of Chávez Sends Venezuelans to Florida
By KIRK SEMPLE

WESTON, Fla. — In December 2002, Ariel Dunaevschi, then the owner of a furniture business in Caracas, Venezuela, was on vacation in New York with his family when opponents of President Hugo Chávez called a crippling labor strike hoping to bring the government to its knees.

As the protest wore on, paralyzing the country’s oil industry and devastating the economy, the Dunaevschis saw a very uncertain future for Venezuela and arrived at a painful decision: they would be better off staying in the United States.

They flew to Florida and rented a house here in Weston, a suburb west of Fort Lauderdale that has become so popular with Venezuelan immigrants, it is known as Westonzuela.

“I had a business in Venezuela, I had shops in Caracas, everything was working perfectly,” Mr. Dunaevschi, 39, said. “I left everything.” He added, “I began here from zero.”

The Dunaevschis are part of a wave of Venezuelans, mostly from the middle and upper classes, who have fled to the United States as Mr. Chávez has tightened his grip on the country’s political institutions, imposing his socialist vision and threatening to assert greater state control over many parts of the economy.

While many have been able to establish legal residency and obtain a green card, either through business or marriage, others have remained here illegally.

The surge is an example of how the political and social realities of Latin America are immediately reflected on the streets of South Florida, a dynamic that has come to define this region in the past half century.

Many Venezuelans have been able to transfer some of their wealth as they have settled in America. For two years, Mr. Dunaevschi flew to Caracas every few months carrying empty suitcases, which he filled with the family’s essential belongings and carted back to Miami.

In Caracas, he laid off the family’s employees, sold his cars, furniture and properties and eventually closed his business. Meanwhile, in Miami, he opened a new furniture company and settled into his new American life.

According to census data, the Venezuelan community in the United States has grown more than 94 percent this decade, from 91,507 in 2000, the year after Mr. Chávez took office, to 177,866 in 2006. Much of that rise has occurred in South Florida, making the Venezuelan community one of the fastest growing Latino subpopulations in the region this decade. In many ways, the Venezuelan influx is reminiscent of the Cuban migration spurred by Fidel Castro’s overthrow of Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and his imposition of a socialist state.

Manuel Corao, director of one of several Venezuelan newspapers published in South Florida, said the main reason for the migration was a fear that Mr. Chávez would significantly alter the quality of life for the middle and upper classes.

“The principle reason is fear of change of daily life, the loss of private property, loss of independence from the government, fear of the loss of constitutional rights and individual liberties,” said Mr. Corao, who relocated permanently from Venezuela in 1996 and runs Venezuela al Dia, a thrice-monthly tabloid with offices in Doral, a Miami suburb where Venezuelans have settled.

Like many of the Cubans who came to South Florida in the early Castro years, most Venezuelans who arrived during the first few years of the Chávez administration probably did not expect to stay long.

“They didn’t think Chávez would last long, so a lot of Venezuelans are moving their families nearby, and the nearest place in the states is Miami,” said Thomas D. Boswell, professor of geography at the University of Miami.

Sinking their roots into the South Florida soil, Venezuelans have shifted their money into American banks, married and divorced, opened businesses, become active in local politics, and seen their children graduate from American schools.

Mr. Dunaevschi’s decision to keep his family in the United States was made easier because his wife, from whom he is getting divorced, was an American citizen. “I could work,” he said. “But for a lot of people without papers, it’s more complicated.”

Like many Venezuelans who have recently come to South Florida, Mr. Dunaevschi underwent a significant change in his standard of living. Faced with a much higher cost of living, he abandoned some of the luxuries he enjoyed in Venezuela, like a domestic staff and chauffeur.

“Life was very good there,” he said. But like many Venezuelans here, he cannot imagine returning as long as Mr. Chávez is in power, a sentiment that echoes the resolve of many Cuban exiles not to return to Cuba until Mr. Castro dies.

“I won’t consider it, as long as there’s that guy there,” Mr. Dunaevschi said.

Even the defeat of Mr. Chávez’s constitutional overhaul in December, which would have allowed him to remain in office indefinitely, did not seem to offer the deeply cynical exile community much new hope. In the meantime, Venezuelan exiles go on with their new lives here.

There are now at least five newspapers and magazines that feature news about Venezuela and the Venezuelan community in South Florida. Venezuelans have started restaurants and bakeries, business groups, political organizations working on both American and Venezuelan issues, and even a medical center for low-income Venezuelans.

“We untied the boat in Venezuela and now we’re here,” said Ernesto Ackerman, who runs a medical supplies business in Miami. “We’ve tied knots in this port.”

Mr. Ackerman is also president of Independent Venezuelan-American Citizens, a group that is trying to encourage Venezuelan participation in local politics. He and other community leaders say they are inspired by the example of the Cubans, who have come to dominate South Florida politics, but they acknowledge that the Venezuelans are still in their political infancy here.

Venezuelans are outnumbered in South Florida by Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Colombians, Mexicans, Nicaraguans and Dominicans, according to data from the 2006 census, but Venezuelan leaders here believe their population may have vaulted to fourth place on that list, upwards of 100,000, taking into account those who have overstayed tourist visas.

The growing Venezuelan population has been a windfall for Miami banks, as many Venezuelans bring their money here. Ken Thomas, a banking analyst in Miami, said the amount of that capital flight was unclear, although he said it was “clearly in the billions.”

“One of the interesting things about South Florida is that when Latin America is doing well, we do well,” said Israel Kreps, who handles public relations for Mercantil Commercebank, a Venezuelan-owned bank based in Coral Gables. “When Latin American is doing badly, we do well.”

For many Venezuelans, the move has come at an emotional price. In return for the relative political and economic security of the United States, they have suffered the cultural dislocation and homesickness familiar to immigrants everywhere.

One place they have sought camaraderie is El Arepazo, a small cafeteria-style Venezuelan restaurant attached to a Citgo gas station in Doral.

“It’s become a place of celebrations and protests,” said Carlos Nuñez, 46, a Venezuelan who moved to Miami in 2000 and now owns a company that sells heavy construction machinery. “We celebrate the failures of Chávez and bemoan the successes of Chávez.”

On a recent Thursday night, several dozen people — mainly men, mainly Venezuelans — had gathered at El Arepazo for a weekly dominos session. The matches were lively, the players raucous. They heckled each other and the news broadcasts on El Arepazo’s seven television screens, which were showing Venezuelan soap operas and news footage of Mr. Chávez celebrating with two Colombian women, whose release from Colombian rebels he had negotiated.

Daniel Garcia, 34, an events promoter in Miami, stood off to one side watching the games. Mr. Garcia moved to Miami from Venezuela in 1996 to take a summer job distributing a friend’s entertainment magazine. But he ended up staying longer than he expected, and once Mr. Chávez came to power in 1998, he decided to make his relocation permanent.

“There was no question I wasn’t going back,” he said. “No way.”

Mr. Garcia is now married and has a child. He said places like El Arepazo kept him and other Venezuelans connected and helped numb the longing for home.

“For a while you may forget about Chávez, forget about Miami, you’re drinking your beer, you’re insulting everybody, you’re having fun,” he said. “It’s a way to forget about everything.”

[keisuke]

Well that was a really interesting article.
it talked about how the Venezuelans migrate to Flrorida (United Sates). these people migrate to Florida since the power of the current and back then president Hugo Cahvez.
Chavez made a lot of people go out fo bussiness so all of them moved away from Venezuela and went to Florida where they started from 0.
As now the Venezuelans community in the United Staes has grown more than 94 % (wow)
To prove it year 2000: 91,507 (when Chavez started to rule Venezuela)
and in 2006 it went up to 177,866
Many people from Venezuela goes to South Florida so that they could be more impressive in their job with no one to bother them (Chavez)
People who went to South Florida does not wish to go back to Venezuela until Chavez goes out fo the office or dies.
So many people decides to go to South Florida to work better than working in Venezuela.
Well this is how much i could summerize this article
it was really interesting it talks about how bad president or leader in Hugo Chavez.

[nitika]

This article is quite short compared to the ones you used to give us. Please continue giving short ones like this. ☺

This article is all about how many people from Venezuela are migrating to The United States of America because they don’t like the person in power back home (Venezuela).

Most of them overstay their visas. Some get married to an American woman/ man so that they could earn citizenship in America and then divorce. I found out that there are many illegal companies in America that lets you borrow these people (men or women) to get married to (to gain an American citizenship) and then divorce. They charge from about $300 to $6000. If they get caught these men and women are trained to fool the person interrogating them. Many even give guarantee just like the Cayotes, etc.

Many get caught and are sent back. Many stay in America illegally and never go back to their homeland or any other country for that matter because they will get caught.

The number of people from Venezuela who migrate too America is shocking. It is more than the number of Mexicans.

I think the government of Venezuela is too blame as the cause of all these migrations. It is shocking that people have to leave their homeland not because they want to but because they are forced to leave as they have no other choice than to stay in Venezuela and suffer or migrate to America and live a modest life. They have to take such harsh measures just because their government is not efficient enough.

In the future I think that many more people from Venezuela will migrate to America illegally or legally or legal illegally, if no measure is taken against the ruling government of Venezuela. These people will outnumber the number of Americans in Florida and eventually start political organizations and fight against the ruling government of Venezuela if no measures are taken.

[jozefien]

This article was about the immigration of Venezuelans to Florida. In the last decade the number of Venezuelans in Florida has grown significantly and this is mainly due by Venezuela’s current leader, Hugo Chavez. Hugo Chavez has socialistic ideologies and tries to increase the state control. I’ve read that in Venezuela there are two distinct groups: the supporters of Chavez, and the opponents of Chavez. The first group believes that his aim is to help the poor, but the others blame him for being autocratic. The Venezuelans in the article are clearly part of the second group. They think that with Chavez as president they will lose their independence.

I think this article is very interesting because it shows that people do not only migrate to earn more money or to become richer. In this case the Venezuelans are pushed out of their country by governance that opposes their own political beliefs. They fear that they won’t have a good future in their home country, so they decide to migrate. This happens legally and illegally. Most of the time, the Venezuelans that come to the US are from the middle ands upper classes and they had successful businesses, a nice house, and a domestic staff in Venezuela . In the US, they live more modestly, but they are happy that they do not longer live under the pressure of Chavez’ reign.

The fact that most of the Venezuelans that come to Florida are rich is good for Miami banks. The Venezuelans first sell all their properties in Venezuela and then shifted that money into American banks. The only thing that I did not fully understand about the banks was the part that says that when South America is doing well, the Mercantil Commerce bank is doing well, but when South America is doing badly the bank is also doing well. How can the bank do well in both cases?

The main reason why many Venezuelans migrate to Florida and not to other parts of the US is that they initially intended to return to Venezuela when Chavez had lost his power, and Florida is the closest region to Venezuela. Today, the fact that there is a Venezuelan community is probably also a reason why they choose Florida as their destination. This is an example of the migrant networks that were described in “The No-nonsense Guide to International Migration.” The migrant network influences the choice of destination of other Venezuelans and it keep the connection among the Venezuelans.
One of the meeting points of the Venezuelan community in Florida is El Arepazo, a small Venezuelan restaurant. There the Venezuelans talk about their politics in Venezuela, watch Venezuelan soaps, and drink beer together.

[niranthara]

Searching for a better life, of freedom and security, away from the socialist government of Chavez, many Venezuelans have moved to America. Many of these immigrants move in the belief that they will move back at the end of Chavez’s reign.

The government of Venezuela, run by Chavez is very socialist in its ways, driven towards helping the lower sections of society. Others from the upper and middle classes are forced to choose between a land where their property and rights are at jeopardy or the closest capitalist and democratic state- Miami.

Most of these immigrants from Venezuela come to Miami with nothing but themselves and hope to have a better life. They set up small businesses and shops to provide them with the resources to survive through their stay.

The cost of living in America being much higher than that of Venezuela, forces many of Venezuelans to live a much lower standard of life. Although they may be earning a lot more than they were, it would buy much less.
Most of these Venezuelans come to Miami with the hope of safety. Most of them do so in order to escape the persecution, but many of them do not get the freedom that they yearn for - either because of the lack of money or the fact that they are illegal.

Different individuals from the same community come and set up shops and businesses in Miami, attracting people mainly of their own race and nationality. To get over the homesickness, these families and Venezuelans form a community and share their victories and loses over Chavez.

Most of the people who come to America legally, have the ability to give their families a better life, but those who come illegally don’t take the risk. Either ways the economy of both these countries benefit through the money and jobs being created in Miami and the money being sent back to their families.

One would usually see a Venezuelan setting up a business or marrying someone who is a true American, only because it’s easier for one to get become a citizen through these two ways. Being away from their nation and being a part of neither America nor Venezuela, becoming a citizen would be the most secure step in these immigrants’ lives.

As the Venezuelan immigrant community get entrenched into the American society, it will be interesting to see if they ever do go back after Chavez is out of power? Will they ever leave the land of hope?
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[xxlyra]

Venezuelans might think that their settling down in America will be better for them, however, how is that going to make things better for the Venezuelans who haven't the resources or the connections to move to America? If these Venezuelans really are worried about the future for Venezuela, it would be wiser to and try to change things instead of just moving away from the trouble. How is running away going to solve anything?

If these Venezuelans want another president, rather than throwing away their voting rights and influence on the country, they could stay, support other political figures, take distance from Chavèz' changes, and spread awareness about their political preferences. That way, they could help themselves instead of just hoping for others to do that for them.

Of course it is within these Venezuelan immigrants' personal freedom to live legally where they want to, but what about the people they leave behind? The ones who can't afford to move, but still desire change? If the reality is as bad and the fear of losing material wealth is as great as these Venezuelan immigrants put them out to be, for what reasons are they leaving their brothers and sisters behind? Should they not rather stay and help them out? By taking their investments, skills, and jobs out of the country, these Venezuelan immigrants are just bringing down their country further than it would have sunk without them leaving.

A little less selfishness, a little more solidarity, please.

[sarah99]

Many Venezuelans are upset with the leader of their country, Mr. Chavez, and as a result, are immigrating to other places to live, such as South Florida, where many people from Venezuela now live. Unfortunately for the Venezuelans, not all of them can get the legal papers to immigrate elsewhere, specifically the United States, and as a result many are immigrating illegally. Some have decided to stay permanently, and others are hoping for a chance to move back to Venezuela if something happens to Mr. Chavez. I think that it is a very hard situation for people who feel that they must move out of the country for a good life, but cannot do so legally. It is unjust for those people to have to choose between suffering in their home or moving to a totally foreign environment. It is very hard to know what to do. What is the political system in Venezuela like?? How much say do the people get when it comes to picking leaders for their country? How long are leaders in charge? If Mr. Chavez only has a few years left in office, then would it be a better idea for some of the families wondering whether they should leave or not to stay? I also think that perhaps the people should do something about their president as a whole, instead of all of them leaving and abandoning their fellow Venezuelans who are too poor to leave the country. I predict that if Mr. Chavez stays in charge, more people will leave Venezuela and the situation there will get worse for the people there, unless the Venezuelan people take a stand (if this is possible, and if Mr. Chavez does not have too much power).

[asifhilal]

That was an interesting article. Venezuelans have been coming to Miami after because of President Hugo Chávez. I can see that Mr. Chávez has been affecting people’s lives in Venezuela, and so once Venezuelan’s come to the U.S, they do not want to go back. People have been sacrificing their previous lives because the quality of life was getting worse with Chávez.
I only find a few things wrong with this. Many Venezuelan’s have been staying in the U.S illegally. Anyone can tell that this is a problem. The other problem I see is that Venzuelan’s are marrying Americans so that they can settle in the U.S. Once they are settled, they divorce them. This really doesn’t seem right to me. It is basically taking advantage of people who issue the rights for Venezuelans to stay here, with these bogus marriages.
Other than this, the main problem is Chávez. Unless the quality of life becomes better for people living in Venezuela, Venezuelan’s and the problems that they will bring will profilerate.

[tamsin]

Thia current event underpins the situation of the leader hugo chavez not doing enough to satisy the citizens of his country, which is forceing them to flee to south florida, hoping to regain a better life style than the the life they were living with Chavez as there leader. i dotn knwo whats the deal with the govemental issues over there, but it doesnt seem like the people of venzueala gget a say in how there coutry should be run, and should deal with Chavez plans to try and help Venzuella to develop, but its going the total oppisite,.

peopel from venzuella are fleeing there old life in search of somthing better some were else. but since not many peopel have enoguh money to migrate, they are doing it illigally. the plitical system must not be working well enough, if the result is the people of venzuella trying to migrate away from the country and try to geta more sufficient lifestyle. some migrats have disided to stay oermanty in florida or some were else, while others are hoping for a dramatic change back in vansuella so they can move back again and hope for a better difference.

The opeople of vansuella should do something about the the president and try to solve the problems that are alays becoming created my Chavez instead of immigrating illigally and serving jail term for there mistakes. Chavez needs to be overthrown if the people of Vanzuellas futer is going to get any better.

[sparsh]

This article is about people from Venezuela migrating to Florida in the United States. These people migrate to the USA because they don't like the current leader back in Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. South Florida now has a lot of Venezuelans coming in. In the year 2006 there were 177,866 Venezuelans in America. Mostly in South Florida. These people leave their home country and start fresh in America.
Some came legally and then married a American citizen to obtain citizenship and then of course divorce them. and there are always some who come illegally. Venezuelans plan to go back home after Chavez has lost his power but make a living in USA until.

Since some of them became citizens in the USA their lives are set. They are American citizens and now will live a happy American life.

This is new. Usually people migrate to America to make money but here it is not the only reason. People are going there because they don't like their government.

[priyankajohn]

This article basically talks about how Venezuelans are leaving Venezuela and migrating to the U.S. to escape the policies off their new president Hugo Chavez, which they believe will have a negative impact on their future. Therefore many Venezuelans have been settling down in Miami, Florida - either legally or illegally. Some of the Venezuelans obtain green cards while others marry U.S citizens and divorce them when they gain citizenship.

There are others who travel to the US on tourist visas and end up permanently staying there. For an example there is the Dunaevschi family from the article. The main reason that the Venezuelans are moving to the U.S. is because they whish to gain political and economic safety which is being denied in their own country .But the problem is that most of the Venezuelans who migrate become homesick. All these people have migrated to the U.S. with the thought that they will be able to return to Venezuela once they gain a new president but in the process all these people leave the comforts of their home like domestic help and chauffeurs and have to adjust to a new and independent lifestyle in the U.S.

Now days the Venezuelan population has drastically increased in Florida since the year 2000. So this increase in population has had a great cultural impact in Florida and soon all the legal Venezuelan citizen will participate in local government and politics.

[jungkyu]

People of Venezuela had fled to Florida, due to the political power of President Hugo Chavez. The Dunaevschis were part of the people who fled, despite of their classes. People had been able to immigrate legaly through their business or marriage, whereas some had done it illegally. Many of these Venezuelans were able to maintain their wealth at America, while Mr.Dunaevschi could not; he had to sell his cars, furnitures and properties which resulted him to close his old business. However, he was able to start a new business in Miami and adapt his new life.
The reason for people flee was that they thought Hugo Chavez was going to change their daily life, their property, their independence from the government, and their rights and liberties.
Venezuelans, consequently have managed to shift their money into American banks. However, Venezuelans had to give up their luxuries due to the higher cost of living. Most Venezuelans, including Mr. Dunaevschi, will not return to their home country until the reign is over.

The facts that I was able to discover was that middle and upper classes are able to obtain more opportunities in their daily life. They have better chances of immigrating, whenever they face obstacles in their daily life. Additionally, the authority of the government affects people from middle to upper classes more than the lower ones, because the middle and upper classes may lose their property and their constitutional rights which the lower classes either do not have it or don't neccesarily need it.
Furthermore, I think that the Venezuelans should not leave their country because of the fear of losing their life, but they should figure out a way to stopping their President. The reason is that what will happen to the lower classes if the middle and higher classes of Venezuela flee to another country? How will this affect the country economically? According to these facts, a best way to handle this situation is that President should cease his control; If it continues, it is a loss to both the country and the President.

[kwangsampark]

This article is about the Venezuelans moving to Florida. People of Venezuela move into Florida because of their communist leader Chez. Chez, who is the leader of venezuela today, he is a real socialist.

As a result people migrate both legally and illegally. When people migrate in such ways, they might face some difficulties. It is difficult for people to settle in a new place with nothing beside them no money, no furniture, etc. They leave their stuffs back hoping for the day, the day when Chez resigns and some one takes over his place. Some plan to come back over when the day comes, others just plan to settle down.

As said before, people who move into Florida and Miami have difficulties that people who migrate legally don't face. But then, why do these people try to migrate illegally? What can be the reason? Reasons are based on the devastating of the economy, and other problems that the country face since Chez has become the leader. As the leader changed to a socialist, people are afraid that they will lose their private properties and will have a change in their daily life.

After reading this article, I was quite surprised with people leaving the country and migrating illegally. I was not even familiar with a country called Vanezuela and its government. But by reading this, I was able to know what it is like right now in Venezuela.

I was also able to know about the illegal migrtation of people and some of the difficulties that people face. One person he had a good life in Venezuela. He owned a business and a shop. However, after the leader changed, he had no choice but to leave his things behind and start all over again from zero in America. Likewise, others also face these kind of problems. As a result people move into U.S. and start again. This has happened a lot so now there are a lot of Venezuelans.

Some people hoping to go back to their normal lives and their home and others settling down in a new country with a new life. One thing I want to say is that people shouldn't be moving out but have to face the problem. They should try and find the way to stop Chez from taking their private properties and their daily lives. This might be a difficult solution, however, this can some day help people with having a better life.

[julie]

Rise of Chavez Sends Venezuelans to Florida, Response

I think that after reading this article I understand better why people emigrate from their country. I think this article is well written and the reader can really be aware of the lives of the Venezuelans people when they arrive in Florida.

Those people have a job, a house, a life, and they have to leave everything behind them and start another life in Florida with…nothing. Why do many Venezuelan citizens have to fly to the United States and abandonee their lives?? Because their president, Hugo Chavez, has decided to impose “his socialist vision” and to start “greater state control” (in economy). I also found on a web site (ABC News) that Chavez also wants to sign an “anti-US military pact with the Latin America> Chavez is anti-United states.

I had never really think about the people who were emigrating because of their president, it’s strange to imagine that thousands of people have to immigrate to Florida because of one person. Usually when I think about migrants I think about the people, who need a better job or free health care, but not about the people for who “everything was working perfectly” as Mr. Dunaevshchi said.

The problem with the politic is that before electing a president you never know what will happen as a result, Venezuelans elected Hugo Chavez and many of them now regret it.
There are now so many Venezuelan citizens in Miami that a community is forming; but what will happen as a result of this? The banks Florida are glad, but how is this going to affect the economy at the end? What about the social life in Florida? Probably nobody has the answer to these questions yet, so let see…

[maimoona]

Rise of Chavez Sends Venezuelans to Florida

This article talks about the Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S due to a political arrangement. The rule of Hugo Chavez has hiked up the emigration of the Venezuelans from their country. These people started migrating into Florida in small numbers initially but the insecure feeling of the people forced them to s Settle in Florida either legally or illegally.
Some of the Venezuelans got legal papers through marriage and divorce and also by establishing small businesses. The crowd that came in for temporary visits just wanted to stay on without proper papers. However statistics shows that the migration of Venezuelans increased in 2000 from 91,507 to1, 77,866 in 2006.Currently 94% of Florida’s population consists of Venezuelans.
They quote Cuba as their example. Today they have formed their own restaurants, medical shops, newspapers and even local politics. Even though they have settled for a better life in Florida they feel homesick sometimes but the regular get together in the Venezuelan restaurants makes them forget about the current life and creates nostalgia about their country.Their businesses have contributed a good rate of transactions to the local banks.
The Venezuelans’ have started from scratch and today they own businesses and are doing well in their new American life. As a Venezuelan quoted, “We untied the boat in Venezuela and now we’re here, We’ve tied knots in this port.”

[zachghaderi]

So the president of venezuela, hugo chavez took away the jobs of many of the citizens in many different ways. He made them quit, made the employer fire them and many other ways. As a result of this event many people decided to go to florida in the U.S. to work. They had to start all over again with basically nothing. But as time progressed they luckily became very successful. Before the event there was a scarce amount of venezualens in the u.s. but now the venesualan population has grown more than 94%. That’s really crazy!
These immigrants like it in the U.S. and would like to stay, at least until Hugo Chavez resigns as president. Until then I’d say the immigrants are gonna stay in Florida.
My opinion on the matter is that Hugo Chavez is a loser. Why would he take away their jobs? Well I guess its back in his face because they seem to be doing even better in America. Good luck to the migrants.
Wow. How enlightening.

[hisu]

This article is about Venezuelans moving to America, or better said migrating to America. The Venezuelans are moving to America, because of “the opponents of President Hugo Chávez” They were on “labor strike” trying to bring the government to its knees. The protest was going on for too long, which paralyzed the country’s economy and all it’s industries, such as the “oil industry” Many of the Venezuelans were “uncertain about their futures” if they remained in Venezuela so many arrived at a “painful decision” Many decided to leave the country and go to The United States of America thinking that they would have a brighter future there. Many people couldn’t even bring any money or many of their things, because they were in such a hurry. Most of the Venezuelans that “arrived in America started from zero.” Many of the Venezuelans that have arrived in The United States have succeeded in getting a green card or citizenship many haven’t and are staying in The United States illegally as illegal immigrants. “According to census data, the Venezuelan community in the United States has grown more than 94 percent this decade, from 91,507 in 2000, the year after Mr. Chávez took office, to 177,866 in 2006” That is a huge growth and more Venezuelans are entering The United States every day. I think that the government was at fault, because they were the ones in charge and they got things out of hand. Because if its people leave the country it is not the person who left’s problem, but the country’s because they are the ones at loss, because there won’t be enough people in the country to do any work anymore. I think in the future as conditions start getting better they will eventually one by one go back to their countries or even at least visit the place.

[sanjayvdasari]

The article was mainly about the fact that many Venezuelans are migrating to Florida in the United States Of America to escape the ‘evil rule’ of the new president Hugo Chavez. It says in the article that ‘the main reason for the migration was a fear that Mr. Chávez would significantly alter the quality of life for the middle and upper classes’.

The article gave examples like that of Mr. Ariel Dunaevschi who left everything that he had in Venezuela, which includes a healthy lifestyle and a good furniture business to go to Florida to run from Chavez. He apparently started a new furniture company in Florida.

His sudden surge of migration is extremely analogical to the fate of the Cubans, who have left Cuba in waves ever since the rein of Fidel Castro in Cuba. There can be many similarities noted about these two sudden migrations.

1) None of them have any intention of returning to their country until the leader they were running from (Castro or Chevez) either is put out of office or dies.
2) The leaders the people are running from both have their names starting with a ‘C’.
Both these groups stay in their own communities with their

[olivia]

Wow, I can't believe you actually chose such a small article Mr Hewett. Are you feeling alright?

This article was actually really interesting. Venezuelans have been migrating to Miami, to escpe the grasp of thier tyranical leader Hugo Chavez, in fear that he would alter the lives of middle and upper classes.
One man Ariel Dunaevschi, was so desperate to leave his country even though he lived a comforable life, he had a great job, his salary was good, he had qualities that where used to make his life as comfortable as he could, but he fled for sanctuary in Miami, in fear of this horrible leader, dropping everythign that he had, and as he quoted in this article “I left everything.” He added, “I began here from zero.”
This Guy took jobs from them, making them quit, firing them, doing things that werent logical and very unfair. Now becasue of this, people are out of jobs so they migrate to Miami.

For a man to leave everything he had, and just hope that things would work out in a country completely foreign to him, must be completely devastating.
I dont know whether those people who elected this man was aware of these horrible qualities that he posseses, but it seems to of been a really bad choice. Instead of "inviting" people to come to Venuzuela, people are leaving, making the economy in this country not as good as it should be and better in countries like Miami, to where these migrants are escaping to. This is not how a country should be led, and so far, if somethign isnt done, Venusuela will be worse than it already is.

[rmanu]

This article is about Venezuleans moving to the U.S. because the governemnt in Venezuela is not good and they do not like the leader in power. All Venezualeans are moving to the US illegally and some of them are caught and sent back to Venezuela.
The Venezualeans are migrating mostly for a better life than a better job. Mr. Chavez is taking away land from the people and this why his people are migrating to the US.
The Venezualeans who migrate marry an american citizen because then they can get permenant citizenship and then divorce. This a very mean thing to do because you come into the contry illeagally and then if you marry someone and divorce them it is like cheating them. The cause of allthese migrations is because o the Venezuelian government. If the leader is not leading the country well then the people just have to ask for an election and change the leader or strike and change the leader. i am also blaming the Venezuleans who migrate because they do not care about thier country and if they want a better life they have to strike!!! If this continues than the no one will live in the country except Mr.Chavez.