Street Barbers and the collapse of an economy 

At times Operation Family Freedom requests that Grant recipients write an article to help our readers understand some of the day to day life in Venezuela. Jonny does a great job of discussing something simple that we all take for granted here in the United States… Hair cuts. 

_______________________________________________________________________

Setting up a mirror, a chair, and a Sign that says: “hair is cut”, has become very fashionable in Venezuela today. Street barbershops are popping up everywhere, improvised by people who have not been able to access a formal job.

These barbershops at least allow people to use their skills to survive. Some years ago, whoever decided to have a business of this type, could rent a privileged place in the center of the city with all the necessary elements to practice the trade.

These elements included having several hairdressing chairs, mirrors, machines, hair dryers, brushes and combs, blades, razors, gowns and an endless number of tools. In addition, when starting their work, various services could be offered, including air conditioning in the premises, an element that should never be missing.

Other services such as offering a cup of coffee or tea, some type of alcoholic beverage, free hair wash, styling gel or cream, advice, daily newsletter, television and music were not lacking in the hairdressing shops a few years ago.

Possibilities of having such a business and providing such luxuries vanished years ago because of the loss of the economy.

Upon the arrival of President Hugo Chávez to power, the Venezuelan economy seemed to be stable, and there were times when it improved, especially in the most popular sectors.

But as time passed, the situation gradually deteriorated. Upon the arrival of President Nicolás Maduro to Miraflores, many misguided economic measures are taken that produce an accelerated deterioration of the economic and social apparatus, reflected even in the most insignificant aspects of Venezuelan life.

The common worker has spent years undergoing a process of hyperinflation never seen in the country that has caused a searing devaluation of the currency. Generating in turn the almost total loss of purchasing power.

On May 1, 2021, the national government set the monthly minimum wage at $ 3.54, the date on which it is customary to make an annual income adjustment for public and private workers. This adjustment was made even when the basic Venezuelan basket, according to private organizations, exceeded 300 dollars a month.

It is extremely difficult for a Venezuelan to work in a private or public company, for approximately US $ 4 a month when the reality is that he needs more than US $ 300 a month to cover the basic needs of his family.

Other elements add to the dismal economy, including economic inequality.

Added to the reality of the minimum wage, there are other negative factors that hit the worker day by day such as: late payments, operating under conditions of insecurity, labor exploitation, few or no contractual benefits, scarcity of local currency, inefficient operation of some banking institutions, etc.

Within this reality, there are still formal, well-established barbershops in the country that provide high-level services. A haircut in one of these barbershops ranges from $ 15 to $ 20 for example.

However, this is not the case for one of these informal or street barbershops that, in contrast, due to the absence of so many services and the quality of the place where they operate, are forced to charge between 1 and 2 dollars per haircut.

Such is the economic and social inequality that prevails in Venezuela that no profession escapes it. The informal barbers also argue that they must charge very low rates for their services in order to attract the client and be able to survive. On a bad (unproductive) day, an informal barber earns 3 to 5 dollars, while on a good day it can be 15 and more.

Calamities of a casual barber.

The Venezuelan informal barber has been hit by the hard economic crisis that the country is going through. They use their scarce resources to build their small businesses. We see them settling in public places like bus stops or stations.

In addition, we find them under bridges, walkways, on the sidewalks of public roads, on islands of roads and avenues, in parks and even under trees. Sometimes, they are installed near a sewer that produces a bad smell.

We can find them near some sewage passage, under the sun suffering the effects of the weather, or near the traffic of people and cars with their respective environmental contamination.

Many times they have the tools strictly necessary to carry out their work, that is, a simple machine, a mirror and a chair. In addition, to be able to access public services, they use the water and electricity that they can find near the place.

Under these circumstances, today’s informal barbers work in Venezuela. The crisis has notably impacted the economy of many people in the South American country, while it has favored a small elite group.

Hope is the last thing you lose.

This terrible inequality has reduced informal workers to a survival level. To all of these, the informal Venezuelan barbers have plenty of faith, tenacity, and the firm hope that one day this country will be the same again; prosperous, free and blessed. Meanwhile, they fight for their lives and for the livelihood of their families.

By Jonny Antonio Luces. 

Editor Note, 

This article was originally written in Spanish and translated via Google translate.  The grammatical syntax may be slightly different than what you are used to.  If you need additional clarification please don’t hesitate to reach out on our contact page.