Rome, 27 lug (Velino) - Every time there is an “important political event” in Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela it is accompanied by a peak in visits to the website www.mequieroir.com. That was the word to Il Velino from Esther Bermúdez, the director of the portal that offers Venezuelans (and Latin-Americans in general) information to help plan a stay – or an entire life -- abroad. This happened when the government decided to nationalise oil resources and again with the referendum that confirmed Chávez in power, to cite but two examples. El País reported on this phenomenon recently. And it is no accident: Spain is “the number one European destination for Latin-Americans, for evident linguistic reasons”, Bermúdez explained. And Italians on the continent? “Many are looking for a way back to Europe: it’s a phenomenon that concerns Italo-Venezuelans (as it does Italo-Argentinians, to cite one of the most significant communities) of the second and third generations.” Fathers and grandfathers born in Italy, in general, don’t return. Sons and grandsons “count on dual nationality for the chance of a future in the European Union”. Outside Europe, preferences go for Canada and Australia, Bermudez said. Information on the bureaucratic procedures required for emigration generally come from embassies and are re-elaborated by mequieroir to make them more readily understandable. Is Italy a desirable destination for Latin-Americans? “In general, Italy is chosen as a destination for study trips. People go to learn the language and for the culture. It’s less interesting as a place to work.”
The picture is substantially confirmed by a spokesman for the Italian embassy in Caracas. “There have been moments when we have received very many requests for passports. That doesn’t mean the Italians of Venezuela are planning to leave the country, but just that they want to have their documents in order,” the embassy source told Il Velino. The desire to leave is not necessarily dictated by economic consideration, since alongside high inflation there has also been strong economic growth since 2003. It is rather the ideological tendency of the Chavez government that feeds the anxiety affecting the Italian community, he said. Among the 130,000 Italians registered with the Italian authorities in Caracas and Maracaibo, and a similar number who are not registered but who could recover their citizenship, people are not necessarily looking to return to their land of origin. “Many young people are interested in Italy as a place to study,” the source said. The Italian community is highly productive, having in large part emigrated to Venezuela in the inter-war period, and is made up of technicians, builders and engineers who help to maintain the country’s infrastructure. “Their serenity is disturbed by structural problems, such as the security issue, and by others relating to contingent circumstances, such as the frequent ideological seizures of the Venezuelan president,” the source said.