Venezuela crisis watched by China immigrants who fled chaos with anxiety – and hope
- Unlike China’s government, the Chinese immigrants who left their shattered dreams behind in Venezuela are no fans of Maduro
With Venezuela’s future up in the air, and the prospect of regime change imminent, a group of Chinese immigrants who fled the South American country’s chaos are watching with great anxiety as well as hope.
The rule of President Nicolas Maduro, successor of socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez, looks increasingly fragile after the US and major regional players Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Argentina all gave their backing to opposition leader Juan Guaido as interim leader on Wednesday.
China, the country’s largest foreign creditor, continues to back the Maduro regime, but the mood among Chinese immigrants, whose dreams for happiness and prosperity in Venezuela were smashed by hyperinflation and social unrest under his rule, are mixed.
At its peak, Venezuela’s Chinese population numbered about 400,000 when Maduro became president in 2013, after the death of Chavez, but that number has shrunk rapidly in the past few years, according to those who have returned to China.
Liang Lintao lived in Venezuela for 24 years and became a naturalised Venezuelan citizen. He returned to his hometown Enping, a county in Guangdong province, southern China, in early 2017 after the social and economic situation in Venezuela went from bad to worse.
“When I returned to China in 2017, I thought I was taking a short-term break before I could go back to Venezuela … I didn’t expect it would take so long,” Liang said.
“Clearly, we hope the rebel movement can bring change to Venezuela. The economic situation and living conditions have been getting worse and worse over the past few years.