Venezuela-based workers connected to the global technology ecosystem are facing an increasingly impossible situation: three to four power blackouts or internet failures are happening on an average week and the very fact of delivering services from Venezuela is now viewed with grave suspicion.
This reality has become the norm in this politically unstable nation. A Venezuelan CEO of a software company (who asked not to be named) explained it changed offices back in 2010 to access a power generator and ensure stability and continuity.
“You are never going to see a big nearshoring company have a full team comprised of Venezuela-based members,” he said. “You need backup.”
This particular businessman lost clients after they spotted that a portion of the company’s workforce is based in Venezuela. The company’s board of directors decided, like many other companies, to cut all visible ties to the country on social media. “Marketing-wise, the last thing clients want in our sector is risk. Admitting you are from Venezuela now feels like saying you are from North Korea.”
During 2019’s four-day nationwide blackout, the vulnerability of the electric grid became apparent. This year, just a month after the electoral crisis and Maduro’s de facto confirmation in power, another massive blackout happened. More than 80% of the country was left without electricity for up to 20 hours.
President Maduro said the failure stemmed from a conspiracy against him, claiming bad actors were planning to attack the Guri Reservoir, Venezuela’s largest hydroelectric project. Cloudfare’s Blog reports the blackout, as usual, came with an 82% decrease in internet traffic.
A Day in the Life
“Systemic failures might be 20 minutes long, but it’s not rare for them to be 3 hours or longer”, said Isabella Linares, a tech professional living in San Cristobal (Tachira state), half an hour from the Colombian border.
Her household, like most, invested in the hardware necessary to access a dollar-paying job at Miami-based marketing software company CloudTrend LLC. Routers are always connected to a UPC unit to keep the internet on. If blackouts take longer to solve, and the project demands grow intense, she must seek out friends or family to use their electricity and internet connection.
You are never going to see a big nearshoring company have a full team comprised of Venezuela-based members. You need backup.”
Voltage spikes tend to happen due to the grid’s instability. “I bought my computer less than six months ago. Since it must always be charged, a spike got to it overnight. Its ventilator now sounds like a bulldozer, and I fear another similar spike might damage it for good,” said Linares.
“My bosses are Cuban, so they understand this kind of problem. They know it’s out of my hands. But they’ve also been very clear: I was hired because I had what’s necessary to guarantee I complete my turn.” Isabella added the Internet tends to run slower when general power dies.
Most blackouts are localized. But in some cases, solutions aren’t.
Mireira Galindo works for a US-based furniture production retailer. She lives on Margarita Island (Nueva Sparta state). “Energy is transmitted through a single underwater cable connecting us to Sucre, the nearest mainland state,” said Galindo. “When there are issues there, it affects us. We have to wait for them to sort their network before fixing ours.”
She also highlighted how multiple, day-long shortages hadn’t happened on the island since 2021, but happened again last November.
A fellow anonymous Margaritan commented how, locally and nationwide, authorities tend to point fingers at external causes and remain silent on expected repair times. “There are no explanations or warnings. Power simply goes out. You can’t plan your day. You must do overtime if you miss hours. If you don’t have a UPS and satellite internet, you can’t prepare.”
Brief Overview of Venezuela’s Digital Infrastructure
Fabricio Sierra, Cavitas Energy consultant
Venezuela’s tech infrastructure used to be a source of pride. Thanks to the oil industry’s success throughout the last century, companies like PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela) leveraged fiber optic internet links and cutting-edge technology like facial recognition security systems, starting in 2002, according to Cavitas Energy consultant Fabricio Sierra. That’s at least three years ahead of most countries, including the U.S.
Sierra went on. “The thing is: Venezuela remains frozen in 2002 in terms of electricity. Outdated generation plants, unreliable transmission networks, and widespread inefficiencies in distribution are to blame.”
Even when Maduro and other governing officials say conspiracies or bombings are what’s damaging the network, Venezuela’s Corporación Eléctrica Nacional has recognized the real causes can be attributed to droughts and insufficient maintenance of hydroelectric plants.
Marketing-wise, the last thing clients want in our sector is risk. Admitting you are from Venezuela now feels like saying you are from North Korea.”
The same lagging and state negligence applies to connectivity. Professors Esteban Carísimo and Fabian Bustamante published a study on the last decade’s registers. They found internet speeds are ten times lower than the regional average and download speeds average 1Mbps, which contrasts with 83.95Mbps around the world. Also, the most notable result:
“While the region has quadrupled the number of submarine cables from 13 to 54 over the last 20 years, over the same period, Venezuela has added only one submarine cable connection to Cuba (ALBA).”
Charging-up: coping mechanisms
In general, sources for this article agreed both nearshore employers and Venezuela-based employees are forced to incur additional costs in order to sustain operations under Maduro’s rule.
Since the pandemic started, companies in the country moved away from offices with power plants and satellite internet. Instead, telephone providers offered ADSL plans, and UPS units became standard for households.
One of the workers we interviewed stated the majority of their friends and family work for companies that believe those hardware and connectivity requirements should be covered by the employee.
Damien Filiatrault, Founder & CEO at Scalable Path
Damien Filiatrault, Founder & CEO at Scalable Path added: “Although it is discouraged by the Venezuelan government, Starlink works in South America, but is typically not necessary. We can assist with guidance, and coordinate with employers and developers to help them get equipment, if necessary. We have contractors in Venezuela working for US clients in the past four months, and so far, the client has not reported any issues.”
Our anonymous CEO source explained his company buys UPS units and provides ADSL packages to workers. “I can’t imagine how freelancers deal with the internet because most of the ADSL services offered by national companies are corporative, not personal.” He insists this strategy, paired with backup roles assigned inside teams, has been more than enough to keep things afloat.
Valatam’s COO, Jeithsa Gedler & HR Manager, Valeria Chourio stated their company offers no-interest financing plans to cover those costs. The company has assigned backup teams for operations and invested resources in “backup workspaces equipped with reliable remote work infrastructure”. Also, HR teams are trained to intervene directly with clients when things go wrong to protect Venezuela’s workforce from further stress.
They also commented that the company has a protocol for blackouts and internet failure. Valatam has moved on from trying to videoconference with Venezuela-based teams and switched most of its workflow to cloud-based software.
In general, everyone seems skeptical of any possible long-term solutions. However, the structural approach companies and employees have when solving the immediate issues has made them stronger.
In Valatam’s case, even proud: “Rather than being a setback, these difficulties have served as an opportunity to demonstrate resilience and a commitment to supporting our Venezuelan team members in excelling within the virtual assistant industry. When any irregularities occur, we leverage our network of support to minimize the impact on our operations.”
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Publish date : 2024-12-19 07:39:00
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