A black sheen of oil spreads over waters that resemble green tea, dotted with drops of gasoline. This is not a piece of abstract art; it’s the grim reality of Lake Maracaibo, the largest lake in South America and a symbol of Venezuela’s rapid decline.
Once the prosperous oil capital of Venezuela, Maracaibo is now a city battered by crisis. Daily power outages and fuel shortages have forced many residents to leave. The city embodies the deterioration affecting the country as it approaches the presidential elections on July 28. In these elections, the leftist Nicolás Maduro will seek re-election against opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, who represents the sidelined leader, María Corina Machado.
The shores of the lake are tainted black. Fishermen stand in the stifling heat, using shovels to scrape the sticky crude oil that accumulates along the banks, hindering their work. “We don’t want the lake to disappear. We cry and suffer for what is happening,” laments Yordi Vicuña, a 34-year-old fisherman, explaining that catches have dwindled dramatically, forcing them to constantly replace lines and nets damaged by the oil.
Experts argue that the collapse of the oil industry, which has faced U.S. sanctions since 2019, began long before that as a result of mismanagement and corruption within PDVSA. The ongoing pollution is one of its collateral damages.
In Cabimas, located on the eastern shore of the lake, only a few fishing boats are operating. Many small hotels and restaurants are abandoned, giving the town a ghost town appearance. Near the Bajo Grande refinery, Puyuyo beach is also covered in oil. “Families used to come here from all over to eat fish and enjoy the beach. But now, with more than 30 centimeters of oil coating the area, no one comes,” says 64-year-old Guillermo Albeniz Cano, who survives by bartering.
Now, only one table is occupied at the nearby restaurant. Crab fishermen, unable to work, pass the time playing dominoes. “We wait for the oil to recede. Sometimes we go a day without eating,” says 26-year-old Luis Angel Vega, father of four, displaying the grim reality of his situation.
Álvaro Villasmil, a 61-year-old fisherman, had a disappointing day. He ventured to the cleanest part of the lake but only caught a few blue crabs, not enough to sustain his family. “It’s hard. The fishing industry will eventually vanish; the lake is doomed,” he laments.
Maracaibo itself appears desolate. Signs reading “For Sale” hang in windows and on buildings, far more numerous than campaign posters. Once the first city in Venezuela to have electricity, Maracaibo thrived throughout the 20th century, embracing its cultural landmarks like the Art Deco Teatro Baralt, which welcomed Carlos Gardel in his final tour in 1935.
The industrial area reveals extensive neglect. Weeds and overgrown grass now occupy land where barely a few walls remain standing. Everything else—wires, windows, faucets—has been stripped away. About 200 companies, mainly oil contractors, once operated in the region. Now, only around 30 are still active, and of the 30,000 workers, only 5,000 to 6,000 remain, struggling under frequent power outages.
Environmental advocates point out that issues like pollution are largely ignored in Venezuela. The detrimental effects extend beyond Lake Maracaibo, affecting the Amazon rainforest through deforestation and illegal mining. “Oil has ceased to be our sustenance, our ‘black gold.’ It has become a problem,” says Yohan Flores from Azul Ambientalista.
Ángel Lombardi, former rector of the Universidad del Zulia, observes that “as oil production dwindles, so does the city and the country. It’s like a building losing its foundation.” He notes, “We have oil and gold mines, but that’s an illusion, as these resources only hold value if they’re produced, exported, and used for improvement.”
Source: https://www.perfil.com/noticias/internacional/se-vende-maracaibo-la-capital-petrolera-que-se-convirtio-en-simbolo-de-la-decadencia-de-venezuela.phtml
