Venezuelan Americans

Abstract

The term “Venezuelan Americans” refers to US citizens who trace their heritage, or part of their heritage, to Venezuela. Traditionally a “receiving country,” welcoming immigrants from all over the world, Venezuela has slowly become a “sending country,” with the United States being the preferred destination of many of its emigrants. The significant wave of migration toward the United States started during the 1980s, when Venezuelans experienced economic crisis and political discontent as a result of the decline of the oil prices. The wave of migration steadily increased during the 1990s, when the country witnessed two coups, a presidential impeachment, another major financial crisis, and the election of Hugo Chávez. Chávez’s regime brought along important changes to the traditional party system and led to an environment of economic and institutional crisis, personal insecurity, and political violence that forced many Venezuelans to look for a better life in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Spain. By 2000, Venezuelans ranked second as the fastest-growing Latino population subgroup in the United States, increasing to more than twice its size by 2010, which shows that, under Chávez’s regime, the migration wave suffered an unusual increase. In 2011, a record number of 6,853 Venezuelans obtained the American citizenship. Nevertheless, Venezuela is one of the countries with the lowest rate of naturalization, because many of its emigrants see their stay in the United States as provisional. The US Census Briefs from 1990, 2000, and 2010 consistently characterize the Venezuelan immigrant population as typically young and well educated, with training in skilled jobs and a high average annual income. They are located mainly in the South and more specifically in Florida. Only recently has this population received attention from sociological studies and academic articles; most research on the topic of migration and ethnicity in the United States has traditionally focused on Mexican and Cuban immigrants, who constitute the majority of the Latino population. Moreover, studies from the 1970s and 1980s and some from the 1990s group Venezuelans under the category of “South Americans,” limiting access to information specifically related to this population. Although there are now more articles and chapters that focus exclusively on Venezuelan Americans, the information available about this group is scarce and dispersed. This article’s purpose is to construct a bibliography that brings together the most-important sources available on the topic. The hope is that this article will help current research on Venezuelan Americans and will encourage more research to be done in areas where important information is lacking.