Chapter IV

Celinda, the oldest of the four siblings, lives with her husband Álvaro and their 2 daughters Sara and Laura. She and her husband are retired teachers, she lives in the midst of worry, since her salary is not enough, they cannot buy anything, not even meet her basic needs and she is ill. She is hypertensive and cannot buy medicine for the same situation. She struggled a lot to achieve everything she has with her husband. He raised his two daughters and each of them managed to achieve their university degrees. However, she feels a great disappointment, because at the beginning of the dictatorship she voted for the government and refused to accept that Chávez was going to become a dictator. Although everyone talks to her and tells her that she did not do it to do anything wrong, she states that she feels guilty, because thanks to people like her who did not know how to identify the true purpose of the government, the country is like this . Her husband is diabetic and hypertensive and from a young age he defended the Cuban communist system of Fidel Castro. Although he never lived in Cuba, therefore, he could never really verify what these types of regimes were like. He is also in the same situation as his wife, who cannot afford to buy his medicines and food that allows him to have a balanced diet that adapts to his health situation.

Álvaro has presented problems of anxiety, depression and also guilt, since due to everything he has experienced lately, he has realized that all his life he lived deceived. Another problem that is also worrying is that he has felt very weak and because of that it was detected that he is presenting a picture of malnutrition. Álvaro is divorced and in his first marriage he had two children. They are outside the country, the male in Panama and the female in Peru, they send him money and with that he can buy his medicines and pay for food expenses. This whole situation depresses him, since he considers that after having worked so much, he does not have the resources that allow him to live in a dignified and independent way.

The situation that Celinda and Álvaro are going through is the same that many Venezuelans experience. Considering also, the risks that are experienced with respect to insecurity. The hidden economy that reflects that everything is paid in dollars and the bolivar no longer costs anything, the government disguises the problems, tries as much as possible to pretend that they do not exist.

Sara and Laura, daughters of Celinda and Álvaro, are professionals. Sara is a graduate surgeon with excellent qualifications and Laura is a university technician in electro medicine, also graduated from one of the best endorsed universities in the country and with excellent grades. However, they are victims of the government, since they have not been able to solve the identification problem to be able to leave the country, since the government does not allow it. This situation prevents them from leaving with the legal documentation required to arrive with a certain stability abroad. They both work but do not earn enough to cover their needs.