Refuge of Professionals: Thousands of Venezuelans arrive to occupy positions for which few Argentineans are studying

Carmen Rodríguez is Venezuelan and is 39 years old. She graduated as an oil engineer. He had been in business for eleven years and was earning $ 50 a month in his country. Next Monday will be two years in Argentina. Here, the average salary ranges from $ 900. But it's not just the lack of money that drove him to emigrate. "The situation was unsustainable. To buy a drug, one had to go through what would be the entire federal capital. The same with the food. I was afraid of not having food to give to my daughter "he remembered.

Last year, For the first time, Venezuelans led the ranking of nationalities settled in the country. Since 2015, the trend is to double each year. First, it went from 2,626 to 5,784. In 2016, it reached 12,859. In 2017, 31,167 were installed and in 2018, they were 70,531. exodus, some 130,000 Venezuelans arrived.

Carmen is only one of 7,511 engineers entered between 2017 and the first half of 2018. According to the latest data from Migrations, it is mainly about an economically active, thriving population and highly qualified, with university studies, especially in vacant positions in Argentina, such as engineering or nursing care. The challenge is now to link this professional offer with the demand. Today, 82% of the engineers arrived are based in Buenos Aires.

"This is a big deficit of the Argentine state Since 1900, with the hotel of Inmigrantes, we tried to bring the foreigners' labor to the places where Argentina demanded of its efforts, today 87% of Venezuelans say they want Buenos Aires in search of work. We must renew the contract of trust with the provinces: do not think we will send you to migrants without destination ", he said Infobae Horacio García, National Director of Migration.

García said that shortly, will present a platform in which will be posted all unmet demand from the provinces to make the link with the supply of migrant labor. Thus, for example, the possibilities of oil works at Vaca Muerta, in the Neuquén basin, will be presented.

Engineering is a special case. The Venezuelan university was characterized by its production, but many of them escaped. In the last four years, about 14,000 have settled in Argentinaa country that needs it, producing only one engineer every 6,300 inhabitants. On the other hand, developed countries such as China generate 1 in 2,000.

The need for these professional profiles is, but Venezuelans, even the most qualified, often find it difficult to enter the labor market. "Mainly because our idiosyncrasy is very different, even the technical vocabulary is very different," explained Carmen. The difficulty led them, in principle, to form a group of WhatsApp engineers who, little by little, became a community in which they exchanged job announcements and concerns.

Despite the vicissitudes, Argentina has certain advantages. "It is one of the most open countries to immigration in Latin America and although oil development is not as important as in Venezuela, they also have an important industry, "said the engineer.

Even in February 2018, the government simplifies the validation of titles for Venezuelan and Syrian refugees. Resolution 230/2018 established preferential treatment. "The case of Venezuela is an exception that was made because of a humanitarian problem.The idea is that they can find work quickly. All those who want to contribute to the development of the country will always be welcome "said Education Minister Alejandro Finocchiaro, who received Venezuelan professionals nearly a year after the signing of the resolution.

In fact, the resolution stops talking about the revalidation of titles to talk about validation. This is to say that university degrees receive the same treatment as those issued by countries with which there are agreements in matters of education. Since the standard was signed, between 2,956 Venezuelan professionals have used it and those who have completed their process.

Stories of forced emigration

Giovanni Meza I had a sedentary life in Caracas. After years of working in the public sector, after having even held the position of Regional Director of the National Electoral Council, he had managed to retire with a privileged income. But in August 2016, she had to emigrate in the footsteps of her daughter. She was stolen twice in a collective and fear led her to study in Buenos Aires.

"In addition to insecurity, the situation ended up triggering a fierce crisis in Venezuela, even reaching the shortage. I had to leave in the morning and I arrived after noon to bring a minimum of food to the house, "said the sociologist and teacher, also current president of Uvenar (Union of Venezuelans in Argentina), which has 16 professional groups, plus a retired, cultural and other, and who functions as an articulator of activities and policies.

Because of his high reputation, Giovanni was able to find a job upon his arrival as a visiting professor at the University of El Salvador. In Uvenar, he met hundreds of Venezuelan professionals. One of them is Luisa Carvajal (35), graduate in initial training, holds a master's degree in management of education.

Luisa has been in Argentina for a year. He held positions in the Venezuelan state and decided to emigrate late 2017 due to political persecution. Upon her arrival in the country, she began working as a teacher through an NGO and then became a coordinator after graduation. In December of last year, he wanted to return to Venezuela to see for himself the situation.

"The political and social crisis has become more acute. I found many people who were hungry, with many patients without drugs. It is already a humanitarian crisis. I did not hesitate to return to Argentina when I was in my country. I hope Venezuela will change and we can come back to lift the total destruction, but now it is impossible, "he said.

Moisés Rivera (33 years old), graduated in social communication, arrived in November 2016. He worked in a multinational company in Caracas. "My work was from Monday to Friday, but it seemed like I was working on weekends too because I was focusing on food. Because the reality is that you can not get food anywhere, "he lamented.

He has four brothers. Years ago, none of them lived in their home country. Two went to Australia, one to Canada and another to Panama. Moses was the last to leave because, he says, he hoped the situation would change. "Before leaving, I saw people from the middle clbad picking up trash to survive. What made me make this decision is the illness of my father, who suffers from multiple osteoarthritis of the hip. The operation was complicated and I despaired because I realized we did not have the resources to save his life. "

His first job in Buenos Aires was selling tickets in a Lollapalooza. The same company that hired him recommended him for another job more in line with his qualifications. He coordinates today the service area of ​​a higher education institute. Today, also reaffirms: "As Venezuelans, we are not a burden for Argentina. We are already studying, paying our taxes and being responsible. We try to walk right. "