Venezuelan Woman's Return Home Leads to Disillusionment: "I'd Rather Pay Rent and Have Electricity"

A Venezuelan woman, who recently returned to her homeland after living abroad, shared a heart-wrenching account of the country's ongoing energy crisis, expressing her deep frustration and contemplating leaving once more.

The video, posted by Andrews Abreu on X, captures the woman recording herself in darkness due to a blackout, with the message "My God, how sad the energy is" overlaid on the screen.

"It makes me so angry, and I feel like crying, I swear," she states at the beginning of the video.

"I came back to Venezuela because I wanted to be here. I was tired of moving around, paying rent, being a burden in a foreign country, and wanted to settle in my own land."

Daily Struggles with Power Outages

She explains that the power cuts last five to six hours daily, sometimes stretching throughout the entire day. "Tonight, it went out at 8 PM and didn't come back until 1 AM. This happens every day," she explains.

One particularly harrowing incident she recounts is losing power during her hospital stay: "The night I had surgery, the lights went out. That should never happen."

She adds that she has heard of hospitals being plunged into complete darkness during outages, with patients enduring the heat.

Increased Power Rationing on the Horizon

The woman mentions news reports indicating that rationing will be extended to eight hours a day, a sign of the severe decline in Venezuela's electrical infrastructure.

She firmly rejects the suggestion some have made to adapt to the situation by buying a generator: "Buy a generator, buy this. No, that's not the solution."

She concludes with a stark comparison: "I'd rather leave. Pay my rent, pay for my utilities. It doesn't matter, but at least you know when you get home, you have your TV on, your air conditioning, your fan."

Chronic Power Crisis Persists

This testimony highlights Venezuela's worsening energy crisis as of May 2026, with Corpoelec implementing power rationing ranging from five to ten hours daily under the Load Management Plan.

The 45-day "Energy Saving Plan" announced by Delcy Rodríguez expired on May 6 without a halt in power cuts or a new official schedule being released.

In regions like Maracaibo, Zulia state, blackouts have increased from three hours three times a week to nearly six hours daily. The state corporation is rationing around 1,800 megawatts due to the inability to meet the National Electric System's demand.

The phenomenon of Venezuelan return migration is real but remains a minority.

According to the International Organization for Migration, in the first quarter of 2026, there were 120,000 Venezuelans leaving the country compared to just 15,000 returning, indicating a continued net outflow.

On the political front, Nicolás Maduro's capture on January 3, 2026, sparked hopes for change.

The interim government focused on attracting foreign capital and revitalizing Venezuela's oil sector, with Chevron's exports tripling between December 2025 and March 2026, yet the electrical infrastructure has shown no tangible improvements for the populace.

The woman also highlights the additional economic pressure: the parallel dollar rate increases daily, rising from 4.90 to 4.93 consecutively, according to her references.

Venezuela's energy crisis has been deteriorating for over 15 years due to a lack of investment, aging power plants, and institutional corruption.

"It frustrates me because I want to be here. And like me, many others wanted to return for the Venezuelan dream. But the same crisis makes you lose hope," she concludes, summarizing the disillusionment felt by thousands who returned with hope but faced the same persistent issues.