Thirty three years ago I came back to Venezuela fresh from a Ph.D. in Physics from well-known US University. It was an exciting time, Venezuela was moving forward, we all felt we were ready to take the country to the next stage of development, you could get research funding and lots of people were either leaving to study abroad or coming back with degrees in many fields. The first few years were exciting, things went well, I came back to Venezuela to work in a lab which already had good equipment and I was able to get more, got grants in Venezuela and abroad, my career took off. I also helped start an engineering research institute.
Then came “El Viernes Negro” (Black Friday), when the country’s economy had its first large devaluation in decades. This was February 18th. 1983. Within months the Venezuelan currency had lost almost 60% of its value, things got more difficult. It was a sign of things to come.
Things began to oscillate a lot. There were good years and bad years. Not much new funding. I was working in a field that required ever more sophisticated equipment, lots of running expenses. It was hard to stay at the edge, but I gave it my best try for quite a while.
Then politics got in the way. Technical employees where I worked began demanding the same perks as researchers, without being willing to assume all of the duties and responsibilities. Then there was a tough strike and I decided I had to either leave the country to do Physics or switch fields. Staying in the country, where my extended family resided, was important to me. I stayed. I was then consulting for a small local broker on how to construct indexes for markets, they had actually started by offering me a job. I decided to give it a try, see how things developed, maybe there would be improvements at the Institute where I had worked since I was 18 years old. It was downhill at that place from there, by now the revolution has insured that what was once one of the top scientific institutes in Latin America, has slid down into an irreversible path to complete mediocrity.
The new job went well. There were ups and downs, but the ups were always exhilarating, I learned so much new stuff along the way. We did lots of things, all of them quite well and with professionalism. Then last year Chavez decided to blame someone for his economic mismanagement and targeted one of the companies of the group that I worked for. It was the equivalent of our “farm” being illegally taken over by the Government.
It was time to go.
Thus, this weekend I moved with my family to another country. I will go back periodically for work reasons, but my main residence will be elsewhere. There were two main reasons for this tough decision, one that came from the mind, not the heart: Crime and the absence of the rule of law. I stared at both of these in the face and it is something I don’t wish on anyone. You feel like you are not playing on a level field. If the crooks don’t get you, the other “crooks” will and you have no way to defend yourself. There are no instances, no appeals, you have no rights. Time to leave.
And so it goes…it’s called self-preservation.
The blog will continue. I started this eight and a half years ago and will continue to document the absurdity of it all, as long as it continues. I think Quico, Alex, Daniel and I have played an important role over the years in telling the story of Chavez outside the country. That job is mostly done. But as blogs have lost some sex appeal, there are lots of stories still to tell about what is going in Venezuela, which can not be Tweeted or Facebooked. Clearly, not being on the ground will deny me some of the insights one gets from being there. But I will go back regularly and hope to compensate partially with it. I hope to sustain the quality, if I don’t, let me know (In private, of course 🙂 )
So, the Devil will continue to be around. I won many battles in my dear Venezuela during the last three decades, but I lost the overall war. Time to move on with some sorrow.
But, in the end…
Semper diabolus vincit
The Devil's Excrement 
May 8, 2014 at 2:54 pm
[…] his farewell salvo, Miguel cites “Crime and the absence of the rule of law” as the main reasons for his […]
March 3, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Good, Venezuela needs you like it needs rats in the street. Cuba had its parasitic scum leave, they fled the People’s Republic of China for Taiwan, and so on and so forth, good riddance to you! Another victory for the people’s revolution!
March 2, 2011 at 8:27 pm
Thanks and best to you…WR said it best: “You’ve got to go out on a limb sometimes because that’s where the fruit is.
The fellow that can only see a week ahead is always the popular fellow, for he is looking with the crowd. But the one that can see years ahead, he has a telescope but he can’t make anybody believe that he has it.”
May all your limbs and telescopes be strong
February 26, 2011 at 4:57 am
Miguel, Wish you the very best in a new land and, maybe, a new arena. It is another great loss for our country. We venezuelan physicists are professionals working in many different industries and professions. And we are spread all over the world from Australia (i.e. Joaquín Sitte Muller teaching Robotics) to Abu Dhabi (i.e. Debora Sandra Vega Ruiz, physicist and geophysicist), to Spain-France (i.e. Germán Castro and Helena Isern at European Syncrotron), Italy, to Texas( José Antonio Bencomo,Medical Physics; Arcangelo Sena Geophysics at CGGVeritas and many others in Houston), Hawaii, San Diego,Wyoming, Ohio (i.e Graciela La Cueva at John Carroll University) to Mexico, Panama (i.e. Ivar Petterson with AES Corporation) to name but a few. What started in 1958 as a small school of Physics at UCV created a diaspora to other Faculties of Science and Physics Departments within Venezuela and ultimately to the world at large.
Best wishes. I will be reading your devilish posts on the new site.
José
February 25, 2011 at 8:31 am
[…] good Devil moves out of Venezuela by Daniel Duquenal on Feb 22, 2011 • 1:43am No Comments Today the Venezuelan blogosphere news is that Miguel has moved out of the country. Not totally, as he tells us he will keep coming for a few days regularly for work reasons, […]
February 25, 2011 at 12:39 am
Godspeed, and who could fault you for even a moment in your decision?
I’ll be sharing this post with my readers–a small but gallant crew–who have visited my pages heavily when they discuss your country’s situation.
Best wishes,
OldSouth
February 24, 2011 at 11:52 pm
Of course I remember, I thought you were living outside Venezuela. Glad you liked TCI, a great place! Go Red Sox!
February 24, 2011 at 10:51 pm
Miguel,
I worked at that same local broker from 96 to 98, I was the FX trader.
Not sure if you remember me but I can recall you always talking about beautiful TCI (went there for my honeymoon), the nasdaq companies, beantown and the Red Sox.
Good luck wherever it is that you live now. Hope it is beantown, and thanks for the TCI tip, beautiful indeed, and the day mi wife and I arrived in Provo for our honeymoon the red sox won the 07 world series.
Keep posting!!
February 24, 2011 at 10:48 pm
I’ve been reading you for the past 2 years, from South America and from Europe.
This has been and I believe shall remain an excellent South American news blog,
with this rarest of qualities: objectivity.
Your decision will be reported on jacquesthomet.com, another European site
focusing on South America with the same angle as yours.
Mil gracias, Miguel
February 24, 2011 at 7:08 pm
From the quotes department, I offer you this, Miguel:
“All of life is a journey which paths we take, what we look back on, and what we look forward to is up to us. We determine our destination, what kind of road we will take to get there, and how happy we are when we get there.”
The Web and our connectivity, today, makes for a little homogeneity among people, the world over. As long as you keep your interests and hobbies, as long as you keep an open mind, and as long as you plug into your new community, I believe that your transition to a wholly new and different place, will proceed without too many bumps in the road.
Best wishes!
February 24, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Greetings from Tallahassee, keep on writing, I’ll keep on reading.
Viel gluck to yawlz.
February 24, 2011 at 6:09 pm
Hello Devil
First of all I wanted to congratulate you on your professional blog.
I’ve been a fan of your articles for the past few years, especially on the most recent ones about the Bonds that demonstrate knowledge on these subjects.
Your last article surprised me, because ever since I’ve been reading your blog, I sometimes doubt my decision on leaving Venezuela in 2000, when an outdated philosophy of losers overwhelmed me with their delusions. I wasn’t caught off guard like my parents, and especially my grandparents in the Russia of the Czar.
I wish you luck in this new era and I hope you keep on writing.
Yuяa
February 24, 2011 at 9:48 am
Miguel querido:
So nice to see in all these comments the deep appreciation for you that you’ve gathered throughout the world. No doubt, you reap what you sow. Bruni, these coments may read like an obituary because Miguel’s departure is a sad loss for our country. But they are also a testimony of admiration. I’m in awe of your dedication to Venezuela from many fronts, Miguel. Someone like you could have easily and comfortably abandoned this craziness long time ago, but you stayed, did new things, worked hard, improved systems for the betterment of Venezuela.
Many thanks for your steadfast love and dedication to this land of ours. Pienso en ti y me lleno de admiración y orgullo.
February 24, 2011 at 9:23 am
To Karl Meyer
How do you dare to judge the circumstances of others. I am still here but i recognize that Venezuela is no longer the place to raise a family because Chavez and people like you preach hatred with every word.
I believe that we’ll get our country back and at that time, many of those that had to leave, will come back. Unfortunately, their children probably will not.
But by calling people names for following their beliefs you are no better than those that have been systematically destroying Venezuela for the last 12 years. We do not need hatred, we need hard work
February 24, 2011 at 9:12 am
If someone cares to understand what this guy wrote:
“Didn’t you understand well or did I not express myself correctly?:
One should hang you all fatherland’s traitors together with the Chavistas. One after the other. Bunch of cowards, runaways. You abandon your country in need.
PS I have been living in Venezuela for 26 years, you coward”
that’s what the guy wrote, did not use Umlaut, so that may or may not be a sign he is using a Spanish or English keyboard and doesn’t know how to write the üs and the ös and the ßs
February 24, 2011 at 9:05 am
Karl,
You are pathetic. By the way: why on Earth are you writing in German here?
Vaterlandsverräter is a word used by Nazis. Piss off, you have no idea what each person has done or not done or gone through. Before you judge others, you should judge yourself. There are millions who remain in the country and not for that are they a single atom better (or worse).
February 24, 2011 at 9:00 am
Good Luck Miguel!!!
Is is indeed a wise decision.
I hope your will also keep posting some idea in your charts. So pls, got some time as soon as you finish your moving and write an update. I would like to read your ideas about this new BLACK SWAN I foresee in North Africa and Middle East.
February 24, 2011 at 5:46 am
Eine Bande von Vaterlandsverraetern seid ihr.
Es wird einem speiuebel dabei wenn man liest, wie Ihr Euch auch noch selbst beweihraeuchert. Pfui Teufel. Aufhaengen sollte man jeden einzelnen von Euch!
—-
Ihr bescheuerten Chavistas seid die Vaterlandsverräter, ihr redet von Eigenständigkeit etc und macht das Land jeden Tag mehr abhängig von Ausländern. Ihr lasst die Kubaner das Land übernehmen (was sie in den 60ern nicht mit Gewalt schafften) und Chavez selbst sagt, dass er ein Soldat Fidel Castros ist. DAS ist Vaterlandsverrat. Und wenn Du in Venezuela leben würdest, dann würdest Du nicht so einen Quatsch von Dir geben!
Hast Du vielleicht nicht richtig verstanden oder ich habe mich nicht richtig ausgedrueckt:
Man sollte Euch Vaterlandsverraeter zusammen mit den Chavistas aufhaengen. Einen neben dem anderen. Feige Bande von Weglaeufern. Lasst Euer Land in der Not im Stich.
PS Ich lebe seit 26 Jahren in Venezuela, Du Feigling
February 23, 2011 at 11:50 pm
Miguel, one man can’t change a dictatorship. You made the only moral decision you could. Your blog is the only one on my favorites list, so you know it is outstanding.
I would wish you good luck, but men like you make your own.
Have fun with your new endeavor. We will still visit in cyberspace.
February 23, 2011 at 11:19 pm
Hola Miguel!
best of Luck…
thank u for all the blogs that kept us informed all these years!
Pau-
February 23, 2011 at 11:14 pm
Half of my family – actually more than half now that so many are dying off – still live in Venezuela and I was always coming and going for twenty five years. Now I rarely go back, and hold my breath when I do. I remember when driving to El Tigre was a fricking expedition and a great adventure. The holes in the road were so big cattle could vanish inside them. I spent every Nav. and Ano Nuevo in Margarita. The food, the friends, the memories, now all gone.
I’m very sorry for you Miguelito. Perhaps some day soon we all can go back. Con dios . . .
Juancho
February 23, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Miguel,
I’m moving my family out also. I thought that the Chavez Government would collapse by now, and I’ve been waiting to come in and develop some enterprise, create jobs, and live happily ever after. I am so irritated! However, we must be patient and keep hope alive.
February 23, 2011 at 6:34 pm
Miguel, I see it on my wife, once you life somewhere else, you dont go back.
Good luck to you and incase youre in europe i would be happy if you drop by one day. Youre always welcome!!!
Hans
February 23, 2011 at 5:45 pm
I grew up in Venezuela, then left for personal reasons 20 years ago. I used to imagine that one day I would go back. This posting brings all those feelings back.
The good news is, once you move to a democracy, you will be forever inoculated against the type of politician exemplified by Chavez. And your experiences, education, and life stories will enrich your new friends and neighborhoods, your employers or employees.
Best of luck.
February 23, 2011 at 5:22 pm
Estos son los logros de la Revolucion – These are the Revolution’s achievements ! 😦
This is the only thing Chavez has been excellent at, making sure all the most prepared, intelligent, hard working, creative, etc. Venezuelans leave the country.
Miguel, I have been an assiduous reader of your blog, having left the country in 2003 after having spent the previous two years on the street – instead of working!!
Only because you are leaving Venezuela, you are not leaving the world, and thus I’m sure your blog will continue, even if the postings are less sporadic, because trust me, Venezuela never leaves you.
Thank you for all the invaluable information and insight though the years, and I look forward to the future ones!! 🙂
February 23, 2011 at 4:48 pm
Miguel,
Thank you for this wonderful blog and its good material that helps people, in and out, ignorant of things happening in Venezuela to be well informed. Quico, Daniel, Coronel, Weil, Laureano, Caballero (QEPD), etc. etc. etc. have contributed to put in writing the stupidity of this nightmare and its participants…many thanks to them too!
Keep your comments coming and hope you found a good place for your family and your orchids… 🙂
February 23, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Miguel, you will do great anywhere, and the importance of Venezuela is never lost to the ones who love her despite everything. The moment will come when all of us outside will be able to help in the process of recovering Venezuela. I look forward to more posts and rest assured the deep analysis will never cease to be needed.
Keep blogging that we will be here to read and comment.
February 23, 2011 at 1:07 pm
Miguel,
I wish you only the best! I left Venezuela for graduate school seven years ago, came back to Maracaibo, and forced to leave again thanks to “Tascon List”.
I had always wanted to go back, but seeing people like you leaving, only confirms that the situation in Venezuela is just unbearable for someone trying to make a career in Venezuela and support a family.
I hope you are located in the South East of the US, and eventually have the opportunity to meet and discuss the “after-Chavez-scenario”
February 23, 2011 at 1:05 pm
Godspeed to you and your family Miguel. I will continue to follow your blog as long as you have the will to keep it going.
February 23, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Thank you for your efforts over the years.
I am a US citizen and resident who resided in Caracas during the ’68-72 years and grew to love the country. My wife and I have been both outraged and in despair over the last decades of decline and destruction that you and others have reported. I pray good fortune to you and yours and will appreciate your future contributions via this site.
Again thank you.
February 23, 2011 at 11:39 am
It’s with mixed feelings that I contemplate your departure, Miguel. When I left Venezuela 8 months ago I did so for many of the reasons you cite, and in fact my six-month stay in el vecino país did a great deal to pump me back up, feel optimistic about life, get back in touch with my varied skillsets that had atrophied over the Chávez years, and realize that there is indeed Life After Venezuela. As you know, I came here almost 30 years ago, fell totally in love with the country, raised my kids here, and resisted leaving until, like you, I felt things were just too unbearable to be able to stay.
But I’ve been back now for a couple of months, visiting friends and family, and mostly spending a lot of time connecting with political activists and in particular the young people who organized the recent hunger strikes, and it’s only been in this last week that I’ve felt just the bare inkling of a feeling that things might be in the process of changing very quickly here. The regime’s unexpected capitulation to the hunger strikers is without precedent. In a few days it will be six months since Frankilin Brito gave up his life while fasting in protest at the regime’s wholesale violation of his civil and human rights; who at the time could have predicted that a mass protest along the same lines would result in the freeing of Otto Gebauer, targeted personally by Chávez after the events of April 2002, and other significant political prisoners? With more concessions on the way. I mean, this government does not make concessions! Look at how things have changed since Brito fasted for 83 days and died, and how close to a 100 young people fasting for three weeks managed to rock the regime. All this against the backdrop of the bloody turmoil in Libya, Gaddafi’s imminent downfall, and Chavez no doubt mirándose en ese espejo. The times they are a-changin’.
I’m not saying Chávez is on his way out tomorrow, but it does seem that history is going more and more non-linear, and fast, and that anything can happen here and most likely will.
Daniel, Island Canuck, and others who are sticking it out for better or for worse, take heart, the world’s changing real fast, and not even Chávez can escape the consequences of what he’s done to this country.
To you Miguel, I wish the very best. Thank you for your fine work over the years. You have been and I am sure will continue to be, a beacon of common sense and uncommon insight into this beautiful, tragically violated country. As for me, I’m still grazing and sounding things out. I love Colombia, and will be back. But I’ll also spend more time here than I had expected to, because I sense that things are changing faster than they appear to be. If you spend a day or two listening to the JAVU hunger strikers tell their story and describe thewir commitment to a free Venezuela, you can’t help but renew your faith in change.
February 23, 2011 at 11:16 am
Hello Miguel and Kathy,
I know the mixed feelings you both must be going through on making this decision, because I made a similar one 22 years ago but under very different circumstances. It was a tough decision then but I imagine it must be even tougher now because it is not easy to abandon a place where you have invested so much – family and friends are practically irreplaceable. However, modern communications and transportation facilities somehow eases that pain.
When we look back, the decision we took then was the right one. In a few years, I am sure you both will feel the same. As the saying goes, “look forward and be positive”. Meanswhile thanks for all your efforts for keeping us updated on all the events that went on over the years in Veneuela.
Best wishes to you both.
February 23, 2011 at 10:49 am
Miguel, good decision and welcome to the free world. I’m sure that we’ll keep in touch with you through your blog. Because I still have hope that things will improve (I’m old enough that I have lived my life both here and in the US), I will continue going back and forth between my home country and the adopted one. I have recommended your blog to all my expatriate Venezuelan friends in the US, PR and Europe and know that they counted on you through the years for your posts on the “real” Venezuela.
February 23, 2011 at 10:38 am
Nur_Ich,
Ein Kompliment für Ihre gute Antwort auf Karl Mayer.
Er hat vielleicht vergangene Woche einer Demonstration in Dresden mit der neonazi´s.
Tschüss
Alpha
February 23, 2011 at 10:25 am
Hola Miguel,
Two years ago I took the decision to leave Venezuela with my daughter and my venezuelan wife. I am sure that you doing it for the same reason.
I am also sure that you will make your luck wherever you go with your family. It is a good decision what you made.
Good luck
Saludos
Alpha
February 23, 2011 at 9:35 am
Quote : Karl Mayer Says:
Eine Bande von Vaterlandsverraetern seid ihr.
Es wird einem speiuebel dabei wenn man liest, wie Ihr Euch auch noch selbst beweihraeuchert. Pfui Teufel. Aufhaengen sollte man jeden einzelnen von Euch!
—-
Ihr bescheuerten Chavistas seid die Vaterlandsverräter, ihr redet von Eigenständigkeit etc und macht das Land jeden Tag mehr abhängig von Ausländern. Ihr lasst die Kubaner das Land übernehmen (was sie in den 60ern nicht mit Gewalt schafften) und Chavez selbst sagt, dass er ein Soldat Fidel Castros ist. DAS ist Vaterlandsverrat. Und wenn Du in Venezuela leben würdest, dann würdest Du nicht so einen Quatsch von Dir geben!
—
Sorry for the german 🙂
February 23, 2011 at 9:31 am
A good decision, imho.
I moved to Venezuela as a foreigner some 6 years ago, to see what is really going on there with Chavez. After a year I knew and joined the protest against the regime 🙂
Unfortunately Venezuelans lost Simon Bolivars spirit to fight for their freedom and it got worse by the month and nobody was willing to go against the regime.
Meanwhile I met my wife and we got a baby, so we had to decide as well, what we’re going to do. Permanent shortages of milk (for the baby), insecurity, high prices on flats in Caracas and many more things helped to find the decision to move on.
Now I’m gone for a year and although I miss the beautiful country i learned to love as much as my home country, I fell much better for now in Colombia.
When Chavez is gone, we might come back and help rebuild what he destroyed, but we decided not to help in the fight anymore with people that think it is more important to go to the beach with some beers instead of hitting the street and march towards the palace again.
February 23, 2011 at 8:25 am
[…] but they are behind schedule. Meanwhile population in Caracas keeps growing, despite some notable departures. GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", "other"); […]
February 23, 2011 at 7:53 am
Yes good luck. It is not too much to say that you entered into the history of Venezuela and made a difference.
If you get a chance, listen to Lluis Llach of Catalonia sing his song of leaving and return, “Voyage to Ithaca.”
February 23, 2011 at 6:28 am
Good luck, great work, you have done a wonderful job
February 23, 2011 at 6:21 am
I always read your posts with great interest!! Good luck in the new country. Must be a very tough discision, since venezuela is a beautiful country , with great people. But I understand your reasons to leave. I also hope that i can go back to Venezuela. In my mind with you and your family !!!
February 23, 2011 at 5:46 am
Miguel Your blog has been an isnpiration and reference point for me and all the people interested in venezuela. I frequently told people about your blog. Of course you are not making a mistake. Venezuela is our birthplace and dream of what it could become. As you said, that Dream is becoming harder and harder to keep glowing.
February 23, 2011 at 5:24 am
In case anyone is interested in Karl’s opinion: “You are all a bunch of traitors to the fatherland. Reading how you praise yourselves could make me puke. It’s disgusting. Each and everyone of you should be hanged!” That’s real class, Karl. Maybe they should build an anti-imperialist protective wall around Venezuela like they did around East Germany, and shoot anyone who tries to leave?
February 23, 2011 at 5:03 am
Eine Bande von Vaterlandsverraetern seid ihr.
Es wird einem speiuebel dabei wenn man liest, wie Ihr Euch auch noch selbst beweihraeuchert. Pfui Teufel. Aufhaengen sollte man jeden einzelnen von Euch!
February 23, 2011 at 12:45 am
good luck I will keep reading your blog. I left Venezuela a few years back. if you are in the midwest let me know. i would love to share a meal with you.
February 23, 2011 at 12:21 am
Miguel,
I have truly enjoyed your blog and look forward to your future blogs. I do have a different take on things because I have always been an optimist. Despite all the hardships and heartache that relocation has caused for so many Venezuelans, I am very excited about the post Chavez Venezuela. That day will come and if only a fraction of the talent that has left Venezuela (and I think it will be a lot more than a fraction) returns with all that they have learned and combine that with all of the wonderful unique things that exist in Venezuela; I think the speed of the recovery from the current chaos will surprise everyone.
Thanks again for a great blog.
Peter
February 22, 2011 at 11:10 pm
Miguel, like AIO I’m relieved and like torres, I’ll keep reading…..
All the best!
February 22, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Miguel, I feel I know you. I have been reading your blog for the past three years, you see I am a Venezuelan grandma living abroad and a little intimidated by technology. Every single day I read your blog because I can trust you. Many in my family have also left and it is a sad thing to leave one’s country. However, it is a matter of survival as you say. I wish you good luck, you will do well wherever you are and I will still read your blog. God Bless you Milan
February 22, 2011 at 9:47 pm
Good luck. Please keep writing.
This sad chapter of Venezuela will pass.
February 22, 2011 at 9:25 pm
I have to agree with Bruni. I think Miguel’s posts will improve in content, not having to worry that some post will trigger the anger of someone that wants to make an example of those who disagree with them. Also, I think our comments will improve as we also will not have to worry about our comments making the owner of this blog a target for repression.
We need to remember that so far in this era we are only a few hundred milliseconds away from Venezuela. We see the results of this everyday, all over the world, “the digital pen is mightier than the sword”!
February 22, 2011 at 9:22 pm
just remember….you have to be north of the mexican border to be out of the turd world….
keep in mind there are likely to be a lot of school teacher jobs opening up soon in Wisconsin if you can take that cold brrr
February 22, 2011 at 9:16 pm
Thank you, I have been to TCI many times!
February 22, 2011 at 9:11 pm
Your intellect and spirit has been and is an inspiration to many of us around the world.
Best wishes to you and your family in this next part of your journey.
February 22, 2011 at 8:19 pm
Muchos Exitos en tus nuevos rumbos ! May you have the bests of successes in your new endeavors !!
As long as you keep writing, on his side of the “charco” (pond) there will be people who will keep reading and interchanging ideas.
Many of us have been tempted to follow the footsteps that you are taking…. keep us informed !
moses
February 22, 2011 at 7:59 pm
Miguel, thank you for everything you’ve written over the years, your insight has been invaluable. Venezuela is victim, yet again, to the loss of immense talent. Un abrazo fuerte.
February 22, 2011 at 7:34 pm
PLEASE people, your comments and well-wishes are very nice and pardon me but they sound awfully like an obituary.
Miguel will keep writing and will probably be happier and more relaxed than before. So this is not the end of the world! And surely not the end of the Devil’s!
February 22, 2011 at 7:23 pm
Miguel- I have found that it is easier to put up with the foibles and corruption of another country than it is one’s own. I don’t take it so personally as I do when it’s happening to me in the place I grew up and believed in.
“Everyone who leaves instead of fighting the regime like even the turks in North-Africa are doing does a great favor for Chavez and his gang of theaves and should be equally hanged on the nearest tree.”
Topo, I understand your point of view, and have had that same tossed at me many times. In these days of the internet, it really doesn’t apply. Miguel will have more freedom to speak the truth from outside Venezuela, without needing to worry about a knock on the door late at night.
Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.
February 22, 2011 at 6:53 pm
Thanks for all your work an dedication, I ve always enjoyed reading the blog and felt like it was an excellent spot where to gather impartial information, wish you the best in your new adventures, and congratulations on your decision life is a journey…
February 22, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Carlos:
Can you email me with your email address? Here’s mine:
ratner@mail.myacc.net
I want to chat with you for a second.
February 22, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Thanks for all, and best of luck to you………….
February 22, 2011 at 5:46 pm
miguel,
i have not missed a day checking “diablo” in more than 5 years.
having more than 30 years here, luckily i opened in many other countries, as a hedge against collapse, as we have here.
however, i still maintain.
i thought libya would take at least 5 years to unravel, instead of 5 days. there is hope.
i am very hard headed.
bon voyage, i only hope someday, i will have the pleasure of meeting you.
you are an inspiration to us all. keep at it.
February 22, 2011 at 5:43 pm
Oh so sorry to see you go!! I always counted on your website for a true and honest view of what was going on in Venezuela! Such a rich country in so many ways! I just can’t understand why the people of Venezuela do not stand up to this mentally ill person that rules over them just like the people in the Middle East. It makes me sad to see such a great country go down the path of destruction. One day this fool will be gone and you will be able to return to your beloved homeland! Good luck!
February 22, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Miguel,
I left in July 2010. I love Venezuela, but I also understand that Venezuela is No more!!! It ceased to exist as we knew it, but we do not want to admit it!!!. I have three sons and they all love it here in South Florida. I think I should have left a long time ago. Now that I am in the US, I realized what I was missing. Like we say in Spanish “No hay mal que por bien no venga”
February 22, 2011 at 5:04 pm
Miguel,
We made the same decision a year ago for probably some of the same reasons. Will keep reading if you keep writing. If you get to Panama, let me buy you a few. Panama has some great Orchids so come for a look.
Saludos y Suerte
February 22, 2011 at 5:00 pm
Sad to hear of another valuable family leaving the country.
Sad for the leaving party, sad for those who remain behind.
A new phase of sorrow, detox and readjusting to the new place/community/culture follows.
And saddest because the one party that benefits from this personal/ family desition, in the aggregate, is the regime!
…who everyday has less opposition and disenters to manage.
Quite a good plan going on their side, BTW.
My best wishes for you Miguel and your family in your new exilee phase.
February 22, 2011 at 4:59 pm
On the positive side, you can post the observations of your friends and family without fear of getting shut down in the impending internet censorship. Good Luck.
February 22, 2011 at 4:30 pm
by the way,
venezolanos afuera suelan mantener nexos cercanos con seres queridos,
and while stats are not there, it is very likely,
that they send hard currencies back home to their near and dear ones.
February 22, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Fare you well, Miguel.
You have already done great things for Venezuela.
Not the least, you and a few others, blogging, have done a good part of the work that full-time, paid investigative reporters should be doing FOR Venezuelan newspapers and TV stations. On no salary at all, and in your spare time. For Venezuelan and foreign readers.
I read your blog, and am confident that distance and all, the Devil will always shed light on the situation of Venezuela.
My wife and I are also on the verge of moving out of Venezuela. For most of the same reasons you mention. Sadly, I cannot imagine the conditions of life in Venezuela improving suddenly, and life should be lived with an expectation of progress, at least personal progress.
February 22, 2011 at 4:01 pm
Miguel, I has been traveling for few weeks with limited access to internet, so I just so the post. I do not blame you…good luck in your new job and you have a friend in Ohio…
February 22, 2011 at 3:53 pm
I think we have all seen the better times in Venezuela, from here on out it is all down hill.
My Friend – family and friends are the most important things in your life, the rest is just details.
You have made the right decision, for a hard working person as yourself, there are many opportunities waiting for you to take advantage of them.
Thank you for all the years of service, I depended on your blog for accurate information on what was happening in Venezuela.
If by any chance you are wondering through the mid-west, there will be a bed and shelter for you and your family in Wisconsin.
Salute!!
February 22, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Good luck.
February 22, 2011 at 3:30 pm
Miguelito
You have done an outstanding service to the national and international community with your blog. I have learned a lot from your blog. Wherever you are my best wishes to you and keep the blog.
Paul
February 22, 2011 at 3:17 pm
“There are many orchid producers south of SF in the area known as Half Moon Bay.”
Frame, my cousin lives there, and we visited a few years ago on one of our trips to the west coast! Beautiful, beautiful “town.”
I love California from Big Sur and north to the border, but wow–an expensive place to live!
February 22, 2011 at 3:07 pm
Hey! I will keep writing if you want to keep reading! As long as things are crazy down there, the Devil will be around.
Tango, I know the name has problems, but it is also the hallmark of the blog.
February 22, 2011 at 3:04 pm
I’m going to miss all the people I “met” through your blog. Kepler, Mark, Island, Firepigette, deananash, mis tocayos, and all the others. It is unlikely that I’ll ever see them, but I already regard them as my dear friends. All the best, and see you in the new Jerusalem (or perhaps before) 😉
February 22, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Really enjoy your insight. My only request is to change the title and name of the website so that I can forward through email firewalls easier.
February 22, 2011 at 2:50 pm
Kepler, probably should have proofed before sending. Now a little embarrassed. In regards to info digested, more to do with Govt. spending than trading advice. Recently I wrote about Obama promotion of high speed rail and related Hugo’s plan for similar service to Argentina. While Hugo announcement was made awhile back, it was fresh in my memory. I recall the info being presented here. Again,,,,my thanks and gratitude. By the way, there are many orchid producers south of SF in the area known as Half Moon Bay. Perhaps a visit is in order.
February 22, 2011 at 2:40 pm
“Many of my thought and ideas have been generated from the material you presented here.”
“If you ever find your way out this way, please allow me to buy you lunch.”
Miguel, you now know where to send the bill for financial consulting.
I reckon it should amount -at the very least- to a return ticket for SF plus guided visit to the Conservatory of Flowers and the San Francisco Botanical Garden.
🙂
February 22, 2011 at 2:01 pm
I wish you all the best for your future outside your home country ….
I can understand the difficulty of the decision very well… I am born in East Berlin and my parents left shortly before the wall was constructed and we, their children, were very thankful
February 22, 2011 at 1:56 pm
If you keep writing, I’ll keep reading…
Godspeed!
—
February 22, 2011 at 1:27 pm
I began reading your blog roughly 4 years ago and it became a mainstay of my daily routine. Without going into details, I became interested in what was going on in Venezuela and your site kept me up to speed on the reality that has unfolded. I live in California, work in finance and have frequently tied in references to Venezuela when writing my investment newsletter. Many of my thought and ideas have been generated from the material you presented here. From an outsiders perspective, it has been a truly painful experience watching what has unfolded. I cannot begin to imagine how it has effected someone like yourself. I hope the distance somehow lightens the load that weighs upon you at this time. If you ever find your way out this way, please allow me to buy you lunch. It is a selfish offer on my part as I would love to sit and listen to the man who has shaped and provoked the opinions of this outsider.
February 22, 2011 at 12:41 pm
Evo,
Give us a break:you said,
“It is sad to see how a beautiful country gets destroyed by ONE person,”
Everybody in Venezuela has destroyed Venezuela from All the power we have given to Chavez out of fear and comodidad.Look at all the mistakes each and every one of us made that contributed to his rise in power: from voting, to working for the government, to accepting contracts from friends, to not speaking up, to accepting that it is better to have one of the highest murder rates in the world, but believing that proesting is bad because some people might be killed, to infighting about oppo candidates …i can go on ad nauseum.
I am fed up with this victimization complex that does not allow people to see how they create their own reality.That is why we have Chavez, and that is why he remains. Pure and simple.
February 22, 2011 at 12:36 pm
I got introduced to your blog via Daniel’s blog. Your departure is a huge loss for Venezuela.
I’m afraid too many have taken the same path before you. Doctors, engineers, scientists, people with Masters and PhDs and anyone who has a skill is gone.
It’s tough to leave a country that you love behind but be certain that you are doing what is best for your family. Don’t doubt that for one second; even if an occasional doubt creeps up over the coming months as you settle into your new home.
Sadly even if Chavez departs tomorrow, it will take a decades to get the country back on track.
What remains is Venezuela Paraiso Perdido.
February 22, 2011 at 12:22 pm
At the end… Venezuela will be a “refugio” for all criminals. It is sad to see how a beautiful country gets destroyed by ONE person, it is even more upsetting seeing millions of Venezuelans following a useless person such as Chavez. Unfortunately, Venezuela because of its laid-back nature will never uprise like other countries are currently uprising ending decades of tyranny and corruption.
February 22, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Good luck and thanks for the blog, it is the best. Please keep it up.
February 22, 2011 at 11:27 am
Sad news for the readers. Good luck to the writer!
February 22, 2011 at 11:24 am
Miguel, if you are in Panama, I would like to have a chat.
All the best
February 22, 2011 at 11:20 am
To those worried about the orchids, I will be exporting a selection of my best plants later in the year. The criteria for selection is quality, rarity and availability in the US. Thus, it is mostly Venezuelan and Brazilian plants that will make the trip.
February 22, 2011 at 11:19 am
I understand why you took such difficult decision, as difficult it is. To abandon family, friends and the magnificent weather only starts to put inperspective how difficult it is to continue living the inferno that the current system brougth into usIt is disturbing to learn how we are losing in Venezuela so much talent, talent that is desperately needed to come out of the terrible path we are in. You will be missed but hopefully we react and follow the example of the arab world that is saying: “Enough is enough.” I wonder when are we going to react….
February 22, 2011 at 10:42 am
Miguel,
you did the right thing.Don’t look back for even a fraction of a second.
There is no shame in doing it.
I envy you,and wish you good luck out there.
Although im guessing you will feel that luck has nothing to do with it,lkife its just better out there.
I wish i could do the same but it’s still a long way for me.
Avanti!!!
February 22, 2011 at 10:33 am
I’m a bit shocked. Best of luck to you, Miguel. …and thank you for this wonderful blog.
February 22, 2011 at 10:19 am
I have known Miguel all my life. We have had our ups and downs, and what no one can deny is his porfesionalism, his love for Venezuela and his rectitude, There are several other adjetives that I can think, but this not the place to post them. His writings have kept us (the ones that no longer live there) informed of what is really happening, and when somobody decides to write about the history of the last and lost decade of Venezuela, without a doubt, this is a place of reference that will have to be cited.
February 22, 2011 at 10:17 am
I made the same decision 4 years ago (same reasons, similar circumstances). What makes it more sad is that I haven’t had even a moment of rational regret (of course, irrational moments of regret will never be erased)…..
I wish you all the best and thank you for your blog… I only hope you will continue filling this space…………..
February 22, 2011 at 9:50 am
topo, you are a fool. Miguel I wish that I had some wisdom to offer, but I don’t. So instead, let me just offer this well-known Irish blessing:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Diablo, you are one-in-a-million and life is its own reward. Count your blessings, dear friend, you’ve certainly earned yours….
February 22, 2011 at 9:48 am
Miguel:
I too feel saddened at your departure but I am confident that like Quico, Alek, Juan and others you will continue voicing your take on the events that are destroying Venezuela, its people and its quality of life.
As you may know, I have read your blog for years and I came to depend in your insightful analysis as one of my daily sources of news about country.
I am now considering whether I should begin blogging since, for the time being, I am still here but if fear I don’t have your prose and insight into many situations.
And yet, I still hope that you are able to keep writing, about all the things that made your blog a “must read” , for years to come.
Good luck in your new endeavors and I will still check you page every day.
February 22, 2011 at 8:41 am
I live in the Detroit area, where there is a large Spanish speaking population. I do not speak the language, but I have come to admire and appreciate the Venesuelian baseball players on the Tigers club. They are great and great people.
February 22, 2011 at 8:39 am
Miguel: So sorry with the new, personally I understand and share your point of view, I did the same three years ago following the future (my son and daughter, both left year ago with their families looking for a brighter future!)
One question that I have in mind: what of your orchids colection? I left mine with sorrow!
Best wishes, and keep writting.
As they say: Venezuela is no longer and left us.
February 22, 2011 at 8:36 am
I won’t say I’m sorry – I am sorry that Venezuela is such a place that it pushes its best to leave, but I was sorry about that fact years ago – because I’m relieved that you are escaping the pressure of the boiler, and going somewhere you can have peace of mind on any given day, rather than pretty much never.
My only surprise, really, is that you didn’t do this sooner. If you need any favors I can help you with, you know how to get in touch with me.
February 22, 2011 at 7:50 am
I left in 2005, still single but already thinking that I did not want my future children to grow up in today’s Venezuela. Since I’m half-Brazilian, I feel like medio-extranjero because I grew up in Valencia and my entire mother-side extended family is still there. Valencia is what I call home despite being born in Brazil. Today, married and with a perfect 2-years old son, I’m sure I made the right -though heartbreaking- choice. Here in Brazil, at least we have a new president every 4 or 8 years, even if back-to-back idiots for the last few years.
Thank you for all these years of on-the-field blogging, and thanks you for all the blogging to come. If you ever stop by São Paulo, I’ll be happy to invite you to a rodízio.
Please keep this in mind: You did not leave Venezuela. Venezuela left you.
February 22, 2011 at 7:46 am
Aunque no te conosco personalmente, te considero mi gran Pana por lo que has hecho tras este magnifico Blog. Vaya con Dios amigo.
February 22, 2011 at 7:45 am
Right move Miguel, this country has become the epitome of mediocrity.
February 22, 2011 at 7:04 am
Miguel- congratulations. Please enjoy to the maximum your new country of choice. Feel safe, happy and keep on blogging. Good for you!
February 22, 2011 at 6:25 am
Well, just because the Devil moves doesn’t mean he stops being the Devil!
As one who left way back in the day, I know whereof you speak.
As Alek says, not good luck to you, but good life and happiness in your new digs!
There will come a time when we can all have a Golfeado or two in the right place, thanks to your efforts and love for Venezuela.
Excelsior!
February 22, 2011 at 6:11 am
Miguel, I won’t wish you luck, for you’re one of those individuals that make their own luck. Rather, I will wish you the best and welcome you in the free world, where the possibilities are limitless.
As Daniel, I did write something regarding your departure:
http://alekboyd.blogspot.com/2011/02/miguel-octavio-leaves-venezuela.html
February 22, 2011 at 5:55 am
And if you’re setting up camp in South Florida, let me know!
Lunch is on me!
February 22, 2011 at 5:54 am
Good luck, Miguel!
February 22, 2011 at 5:05 am
Everyone who leaves instead of fighting the regime like even the turks in North-Africa are doing does a great favor for Chavez and his gang of theaves and should be equally hanged on the nearest tree.
February 22, 2011 at 4:56 am
I left 8 years ago for the same main reason. Godspeed Miguel.
February 22, 2011 at 4:55 am
Miguel I wish you the greatest success in your new endeavors.
I, unfortunately, am trapped here both economically & by age.
Our business is virtually unsaleable even though it is successful.
If I was younger I would seek out other opportunities but that option is now closed.
I would love to escape even for part of the year.
February 22, 2011 at 4:48 am
Hi Miguel,
ay, I’m sorry you had to leave – but I completely understand it. Someone once asked me how to identify the time to leave one’s country. I believe it is when the warning signs start accumulating: breakdown of the separation of powers, breakdown of the rule of law, undermining or hijacking of the institutions of state, human rights violations, a lack of personal safety. All of these signs are abundant and mounting in Venezuela, as you have so ably documented in your blog.
Like many others, I am very grateful for the work you have put into your writing. Your posts are well thought-out, fact-based, and well researched. I also have a personal appreciation for your discipline in keeping it up year after year, without fail, and am glad to hear that you will keep on writing.
I wish you all the best in your new home and that you and your family will be able to put down roots quickly. And that someday, Venezuela will find its way back to the path of reason and progress.
Best regards,
John
February 22, 2011 at 4:43 am
I have read your blog for nearly 5 years, never missing a post. I have rarely posted as I live in another country where emails are monitoring carefully. I left Venezuela when we immediately after our first child was born a few months after the high profile murders of the kidnapped Canadian children and the dramatic change in laws concerning the birth of expat children in Venezuela. All of that to say, I completely understand the need to care and protect yourself and family. God Bless you Miguel and keep posting!!!
February 22, 2011 at 4:15 am
I left the country a few years before Chávez to pursue a MSc and PhD. I finished in the early years of Chávez and still considered coming back. I too was a Fundayacucho boy! Still, I decided to go to yet another country for a while, attempting to get some real experience in my field. In all these years I’ve felt a deep longing for Venezuela and I went to visit almost every year, and every time I returned abroad heartbroken. When I left Venezuela, things were bad, but there was a sense, a feeling, that things were at least pointing to a good direction. Now I don’t think that’s true anymore and it breaks my heart. I didn’t leave Venezuela because of Chávez, but I won’t come back because of him and what he has done to my country. The last nail in the coffin of my feelings for Venezuela happened not too long ago, after one of those periodical visits. I finally realized that I didn´t miss Venezuela, I missed the version of it in my mind from when I lived there. Things weren’t great back then, but they were “repairable”. Not anymore.
February 22, 2011 at 3:12 am
All the best Miguel.
I am saddened. Not a day goes by without when I don’t dream of the Venezuela that could have been.
With you gone, that dream is a little farther from ever being realized.
February 22, 2011 at 2:54 am
Miguel, I wished you and your family the best. I’ve worked with your wife while in Venezuela and know first hand about your honesty and professionalism.
We’ll keep in touch !
February 22, 2011 at 2:26 am
Good luck Miguel. We left in 2007 and things have got better and better year on year. We are in Asia now and my Venezuela wife’s carreer has taken off. Me, I am delighted at the way my business has grown. Ironically we owe some thanks to Chavez (since his actions forced us out-taking over Exxon)although my wife would never admit it.
February 22, 2011 at 2:25 am
I wake up in the other side of the world to this sad but expected news.
You are quite modest as usual Dr. Miguelito
Well-known university, read Harvard
your career took off, read you became Venezuela’s most distinguished physicist. How many awards did you get, two or three?
then you became a very well respected financial analyst.
oh yeah, the you started this wonderful blog on the side.
you deserve a rest, good luck.
February 22, 2011 at 2:17 am
Miguel,
Thanks for blogging the way you do. Success with all your new endeavours and the best for your whole family.
February 22, 2011 at 1:49 am
Miguel,
For about four years I have recommended to family and friends to read your blog. I have cited it many times during conversations with, again, family and friends, and to me it has become a reference of sorts. I have lived abroad, with my family, for about 16 years, and during that time many friends have also left the country. The exodus, however, has obviously accelerated since December 1998. Whereas on one hand I read this posting with amazament, on the other I’m not all that surprised. Many people who can have left, or are in the process of leaving Venezuela. I’m sure it wasn’t an easy decision, but it is completely understandable. Good luck wherever your new home is, and please do keep blogging.
February 22, 2011 at 1:46 am
Miguel,
Thank you for all the work you have put into this blog. Indeed, the real work performed by you and the other bloggers is completed. The curtain has been pulled back, and Chavez is exposed to the world for the power-mad fraud that you always knew he was. No respectable journalist in the world credits his “democratic” rhetoric any longer. I hope you continue to write, but even if your contribution dwindles, you can rest well knowing that you completed your mission. Well, done.
Like others here, I can only support you in your decision to do what is best for you and your family. I am not Venezuelan, and yet, I am still here. Over the last two years, I have struggled with the same decision. A couple of times, I have concluded that I should go. For one reason or another, I have not… yet.
For personal reasons, I would like to ask you, if it were not for considerations of protecting your family, and it was only yourself that you had to worry about, would your decision be the same?
February 22, 2011 at 1:33 am
Thank you so much for your wonderful work. You are an example to all mankind. God Bless You.
February 22, 2011 at 1:25 am
Miguel,
Best wishes wherever you are going. You are bound to find Venezuelan’s working hard to make for them a new life were you are going. Freedom and a Liberal Education for your kids is priceless.
I have asked myself many times while reading your column how is it that the real news about my home is not in newspapers or TV but in 5 blogs that tell the story that no one else is willing to write … Amazing.
Please do keep writing the blog and if you can drop us a few hints where you are going. All that have had to make the same decision keep running into each other as we jump start new lifes where our talents and hardwork are indeed appreciated.
Take stock of the work you have done to chronicle the descent into darkness of the most happy and easy going people in Latin America, the modern history of a country both blessed and cursed by the Devil’s Excrement.
You should think about publishing this work once you take some time and distance from the daily postings. They are certainly much better read than Perez Reverte’s old Sunday articles compilation, perhaps because they are about my home.
Best wishes.
A loyal reader.
February 22, 2011 at 1:06 am
Good luck wherever you’re headed to Miguel & family… and hope always for the eventual turnaround of your country.
I hope you were able to move your fantastic orchid collection as well.
February 22, 2011 at 12:45 am
Miguel, I wrote you a farewell note
http://daniel-venezuela.blogspot.com/2011/02/good-devil-moves-out-of-venezuela.html
February 22, 2011 at 12:34 am
A mixed sense of happiness for you and sadness when I read the expected news. So many people have been guided by your blog! Your insight and views need to be continued, from wherever you are. You are a prisoner of your wisdom and penmanship. Your father is proud of you! and surely telling the angels a joke or two! We wont miss you, because I know you will continue to be there for us. O No?
February 22, 2011 at 12:33 am
Your new abode will surround you with changes in your life, hopefully changes that you will welcome. Heraclitus was almost right. Everything changes, except one thing.
It is better said with music by one of my favorite singers.
February 22, 2011 at 12:32 am
Best wishes to you and your family, Miguel. And thank you for all the important work you have done with this blog.
February 21, 2011 at 11:59 pm
We wish you all the best.
We left a few years back, to a law abiding land.
My wife loves the predictable simple life we lead,
surrounded by our loved ones.
Where our ABA is speedy,
Where libraries exist, and are free.
Where health services are staffed by persons who care.
Even gov’t services can be had on a
friday afternoon, minutes before closing hours.
y donde las rejas y los guardias brillan por
sus ausencias.
February 21, 2011 at 11:55 pm
And so I am left alone here…….. For how long?
February 21, 2011 at 11:35 pm
No hay que ser muy inteligente para saber que usted lo es. Leyendo este articulo me di cuenta que corrio la misma suerte que yo a manos del resentido que hoy gobierna a Venezuela. A pesar que se que las cosas an empeorado en nuestro pais tambien me resisto a la idea de abandonarlo siempre manteniendo la esperanza de que la mayoria pronto abran los ojos, pero cuando veo partir a mas y mas amigos, empresarios, profesionales, emprendedores y gente capacitada como usted esas esperanzas se debilitan sabiendo que todos an sido acertados en la mayoria de sus decisiones y que solo es cuestion de tiempo para que yo y mi familia sigamos el mismo camino. Permitame desearle que sea feliz usted y los suyos en su nuevo hogar, y pedirle en nombre de sus seguidores que nos nos abandone ni por los blogs ni por las redes sociales. En mi caso particular a sido un exelente guia en materia de inversion. Gracias
February 21, 2011 at 11:29 pm
It was probably time to put the family ahead of the country, so I agree with the others. This is probably a very smart move, I guess we will find out in due course.
BTW, “all of them quite well and with prffesionalsim”.
Professionalism? Was that on purpose-some inside joke?
February 21, 2011 at 11:00 pm
Congratulations on the smart move. VZ has become the poster-child for “Third-World toilets”.
My beautiful Venezuelan wife, whom I met here the US while she was getting her MBA under the “Fundayacucho” program, thinks that it was about time you left that dump of a nation. Since the chavistas will not think of the country’s needs, you should neither. Your family’s needs should be the only concern in your life.
For the record, my wife never had to pay back her Fundayacucho scholarship from because Chavez waived it!! What a sucker!!
Today she is a supah-dupah top tax bracket wage earner, loyal US citizen, and refuses to return to her country for even one New York minute.
My win! US win! VZ loss!
p.s. My wife doesn’t even miss Arepas one bit and considers Puerto Rican Alcapurrias to be vastly superior!!!
February 21, 2011 at 10:56 pm
Miguel,
I understand your decision and know it is painful.
It will take time to heal the sorrow of leaving, but if you have children they will adapt quickly.
Glad to hear you will continue the blog.Not only is it an important document but also a way of connecting many people to certain realities and a way for you to sort out and deepen your own thoughts.
You have been brave to stay and you are also brave to leave.It will be interesting to see how your perspectives change when you are far way for some time.This is bound to happen.
Good luck!
February 21, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Opps, sorry about the “Daniel”, I read his blog ahead of yours and my mind betrayed me!
February 21, 2011 at 10:28 pm
Miguel,
Your on-the-ground observations have been fabulous as it kept ex-residents of Venezuela, such as myself, informed of the countries sadly downwards trajectory. No better Man! I wish you well where ever it is where you are going. My wife’s family are also slowly but surely escaping / emigrating, expecially to where we live in western Canada.
Buenas suertas chamo
Sean
February 21, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Daniel: The parallelism surprises me. I too got my PhD in physics at a US university and came back to Venezuela a few years ahead of you. I too gave it a fair trial at continuing in my chosen field of solid state physics. Got some money for research, tutored a couple of theses and gave it a real effort at a national University until it was evident that I wa not able to build the environment that my research required. My wife, a US citizen with a masters was also limited in her ability to do what her passion dictated. We had our children and we are still here. I’ve bee held up at gun point five times, lost seven cars to thieves and my wife was shot at (missed luckily) in our front yard for refusing to give up the keys to her car.
I’ve been a faithful reader for a long time and appreciate your contribution to trying to change the way that is certainly driving us rapidly to the edge of the abysm.
We live in Maracaibo and sincerely wish you the best of luck in your new home. We remain here needing every word that people like you are willing to write about what is really going on.
My sincere thanks and recognition to your continuous effort for the benefit of all.
February 21, 2011 at 10:09 pm
this is sad news for me, just hope you keep on writing the blog…..it’s needed…..hope things go better for you and your family.
February 21, 2011 at 10:08 pm
From my parochial view of the world, the Devil lives in this blog. Miguel Octavio may live somewhere else, but the sulfurous Devil resides on my flat screen.
I can read regret between the lines of your farewell. I empathize with those that decided to stick around Venezuela and to contribute from within. When I finished my studies I went back for a few weeks and soon realized that even your decisions were made by those in power. I found unappealing the absence of degrees of freedom, the need to suck up to some mediocre politician who grabbed you by the short and curlies…and that was when chavez was not even a footnote of the national press.
If life brings you to the Midwest, let me know. We may decide to put your fire to a good use barbecuing some deliciously sinful meat.
February 21, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Good luck, moctavio. It’s sad that this moment has finally come for you. The only good thing for me is that I don’t feel as bad now about my own decision to leave many years ago. I know you are a very smart man. You probably agonized between staying or leaving and had many clear opportunities to leave. I had a chance to meet you briefly. I was working for Intevep at the time when it was still doing research and a mutual friend who left before both of us introduced us in a visit to the IVIC.
I wish I could visit more often. I used to go every year during the summer time while the kids were off from school. Now that one of them is going to college and the other one starting soon, we are trying to cut on any superfluous travel. It will be 3 years this summer since my last visit. Still, I pray every day for the country and my family over there. May we find the way out of this “callejon sin salida” and begin the long process of healing.
February 21, 2011 at 9:59 pm
Nice farewell, but mine was better ;-).
“Don’t look back, something might be gaining on you” – Satchel Paige.
February 21, 2011 at 9:49 pm
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Onlyview, Miguel Octavio. Miguel Octavio said: The Devil Does Not Live Here Anymore http://wp.me/ppwPU-38V […]
February 21, 2011 at 9:47 pm
That is a decision you did not make lightly. I hope that some day you will be able to return to a Venezuela subject not to the whims of malandros and power hungry politicians, but to the rule of law.
February 21, 2011 at 9:45 pm
Will keep blogging…the heart is still there.
February 21, 2011 at 9:41 pm
Miguel, I realize that you knew this was coming not too very long ago. I am so very sorry that it has come to this. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. I understand what you say about things losing their “sex appeal”; I’m not sure that’s why I check your blog every day ;-), but I look forward to each and every post you make. You have given me so much insight into what’s going on in VZ, and I, as well as many others, are truly grateful for what you do. And, yes, the devil always wins!
February 21, 2011 at 9:28 pm
This is very unfortunate to hear and I’m sorry to see you have to move away from extended family due to such unnecessary but Chavez inspired reasons.
First, as someone who has been reading your blog religiously for a few years now I appreciate the insight you give both as someone who was there, but also as someone who has history in that country.
Second, I’m not from Venezuela, or latin america. I’m not latin or hispanic in any way, but what I do care for is freedom. I want Venezuela to be free again and I hate what Chavez is doing to the country. Just about every day I google Venezuela in google news just to see what other stupid thing Chavez is doing and could this be his last?
Third, yeah, blogs have lost some of their appeal as many things have in this Brave New World of constant changing technology, but the blog is still more easy, helpful, and insightful than facebook and twitter. And more in-depth. It just tends miss the social aspect of those things.
So as a fan I will say thank you for all you put in to this blog. I am sorry to hear about your having to leave and I will pray for you and your family.
February 21, 2011 at 9:21 pm
sigh.. big sigh… goog luck diablillo!
February 21, 2011 at 9:21 pm
It sucks, but it’s a reality I think most young people are facing right now. Me and my girlfriend are trying to buy an apartment, in Lara (not even Caracas) and it’s almost impossible. I’m thinking wether I should save my hard earned money and just flee and buy somewhere else.
Plus, when you factor in the lack of security (she’s already been held in her house for an hour while two guys cleaned out the place), I am thinking more and more about leaving the country. She doesn’t want to ,but I just don’t see myself raising my yet unborn children in this country.
It’s a very sad reality. I just hope you are going to a nearby country so you can visit Venezuela often. Most of my friends who’ve left for Spain, Australia, Italy have yet to return to visit.
Best of luck, I hope you can still write on this blog often. It’s one of the best I’ve read, and one of the few that can explain in English this Red Disaster that has fallen upon Venezuela.