Venezuela Is Still Reeling From Devastating Twin Earthquakes a Month Ago. Business And Workers Are Struggling To Recover

While families are still searching for missing loved ones and others are trying to work out where they will live after Venezuela's twin earthquakes on 24 June, many are now facing another challenge: how to earn a living.

Scores of businesses have been destroyed or forced to close after the buildings they operated from collapsed, often taking their products, stock and equipment with them. Employees and self-employed workers have found themselves without an income.

Neilisbeth Fermín says she's grateful to be alive but also worried. The clothes shop she worked in was destroyed and has been left without a job. Her husband was working on a construction project across from the port, which also collapsed. Her father, who was self-employed, has also lost his source of income.

"Right now, there are barely any jobs. Here, there's still nothing; everything's at a standstill. It's tough because without work, how do we live? How do we survive?" Fermin told International Business Times.

Although many people have been kind, she says others have refused to help her because she hasn't lost a home.

"I go out every day to see what I can get, to see if I can at least find some flour, water and sugar. Sometimes they don't give me anything; sometimes I go out and come home with nothing to give my children. It's tough."

A family member has lent them money for fuel for the car. But they don't want to live off family handouts – or those from NGOs.

In the hardest hit state of La Guaira, the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Customs said around 40 percent of the commercial, industrial and customs sector had been impacted, with more than 250 small and medium-sized businesses reporting losses. But the economic fallout has spread beyond the main disaster area of the earthquake along the coast in La Guaira, and is also impacting the capital, Caracas.

A preliminary survey by Caracas's Chamber of Commerce found that around two-thirds of businesses surveyed across Caracas and La Guaira state remained open, although many reported a decline in visitor numbers.

The remaining third were closed, either because they were undergoing repairs or had been destroyed. Around 15 percent of establishments surveyed were completely devastated.

The impact is also being felt in smaller communities outside the immediate earthquake zone. In El Junquito, a small town just outside Caracas that depends heavily on tourism and agricultural production, some buildings were damaged and some residents died.

Many residents say the economy has stagnated further, with some estimating tourism has fallen by at least half. People are avoiding restaurants, while visitors from the city are delaying trips to the countryside and buying fewer local products.

Samuel González, an artisan chocolate maker who sells his products in the town and surrounding areas, says the earthquake brought tourism to a standstill, cutting off his main source of customers.

He began by selling informally in terminals and markets before, eight years ago, setting up a registered company. He now makes chocolate himself before distributing it locally.
"We're economically paralyzed," he said.

González is temporarily living in a tent with other residents. His home is still standing but needs structural repairs. He keeps his chocolate and cocoa there, but says no one is buying.

"We had to stop because our sales depended on tourism," he said. "We'll keep going, but it's difficult right now."

The government has announced financial support for affected businesses in El Junquito, saying it would introduce "contingency bonuses" to allow people impacted by the earthquake to receive an income while they recover. It has also announced a wider recovery effort.

"We are going to create a master plan for the new El Junquito, one that has planned tourism activity, productive activity, agricultural activity and commercial activity," interim President Delcy Rodríguez said during a visit to the area.

Yet several residents are still waiting to see how reconstruction will work in practice — and whether support will reach the workers and business owners whose livelihoods have been disrupted.

Some residents have also criticised what they described as a slow response and an initial lack of support from the state.

For residents like Gonzalez, the situation was already difficult before the earthquake.

"You have to deal with everything: selling at one price, then another price, with the dollar exchange rate. But you always keep going because all of this was merchandise," he explained.

In nearby Pericoco, residents say the earthquake worsened economic problems that had existed for years.

"The money we earn here is barely enough to eat. The economy is stuck. But that was before the earthquake too. That didn't just start now," said Elvis Crespo, a local farmer.

The earthquake hit an economy already weakened by years of crisis. Many Venezuelans were already relying on informal jobs, small businesses and support from relatives who had migrated abroad, leaving households with little savings or ability to absorb another shock.

Farmers here produce a range of crops from cilantro to potatoes, carrots, beets and strawberries, but say they still struggle to get by.

"All these products go to the consumer in Caracas and other places. They get the benefits of what we produce. But we're the ones who receive the least. We don't have any help. We are abandoned," Crespo said.

"If the economy was already in shambles before the earthquake, it's even worse now after the earthquake. We've reached that point, we're back to square one. We're at zero."
Around 40 percent of people in the community work in El Junquito, while the other 60 percent depend on agriculture, according to residents.

Residents say they are living day to day. Maria Capote, who worked in a restaurant before the earthquake, says she no longer has work.

"Since the day of the earthquake, I haven't been back. Now only the bosses are working, without any employees. They say that when things improve, they might call us."
She says many people like her who depended on tourism are now unemployed.

"There's no work here in town anymore, because everything has closed down after the earthquake that destroyed several restaurants. A lot of people are unemployed, and there's no tourism anymore, because most people here depend on tourism." She says if things don't change soon, she will have no choice but to emigrate.