Venezuela

Venezuela is a country in South America. It was formerly a colony of Spain, and gained independence in 1821. The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands in the Caribbean Sea. Venezuela is known for its leftist policies and economic mismanagement, petroleum industry, and environmental diversity. One of the most urbanised countries in Latin America, with the vast majority of the population living in cities in the north, it hosts the whitest population near the Equator.

Venezuela, migration, and race

A less mentioned aspect is race, such as the former leftist president Hugo Chávez and his leftist successor Nicolás Maduro being supported by "darker" Venezuelans and opposed by "whiter" Venezuelans. Despite having the world's largest known oil reserves, the country has had enormous economic problems, in large part due to the leftist policies, causing millions of people to migrate to other countries.

Hugo Chávez stated in an interview that “Hate against me has a lot to do with racism. Because of my big mouth, because of my curly hair. And I’m so proud to have this mouth and this hair, because it’s African."

Most of the migrants have moved to Colombia, where the immigration has caused various problems and strong opposition. This is immigration opposition is rarely mentioned or criticized in politically correct sources, possibly because of immigration opposition by Hispanics not fitting with the politically correct depiction of immigration opposition.

Genetics and racial identity

According to an autosomal DNA study conducted in 2008 by the University of Brasília, the average Venezuelan is 60.6% European, 23.0% Amerindian, and 16.3% African. Another study estimates 55.90% European, 25.27% Amerindian, 9.70% African, and yet another study 73.3% European, 15.1% Amerindian, 7.0% African.

One GEDmatch analysis using Eurogenes K15 puts the average Venezuelan as 70.88% European, 19.57% Amerindian, 8.13% Sub-Saharan African, and 1.42% Northeast Asian. The same analysis found 29% of Venezuelans were 80-100% European, 58% were 70-100% European, and 79% were 60-100% European. This makes Venezuelans one of the most Europeanised populations in Latin America, only behind Argentines (52% over 80% Euro), Brazilians (54% over 80% Euro), Cubans (85% over 80% Euro), and Uruguayans (77% over 80% Euro).

At the end of the 18th century, 61% of the Venezuelan population was part-African: 38% mulatto, 8% free blacks, and 15% black slaves.

Today, mulattoes and blacks are fewer than 30%.

In 1940, the population was 37.7% mestizo, 37.7% mulatto, 16.9% white, 2.8% black, 2.7% amerindian, and 2.2% asian.

The self-identified white population has been recently surveyed at around 30-40%, similar to the Eurogenes K15 findings of 29% over 80% European, and around 43% over 75% European.

In the 2011 census of Venezuela, 51.6% of the population self-identified as moreno (brown, either mestizo, mulatto or triracial), 43.6% as white, 3.5% as black, and 1.2% as another race. 2.6%, who were included in the moreno category, also identified as Amerindian.

The 2011 Latinobarometro survey found that 33% of Venezuelans identified as mestizo, 32% as white, 21% as mulatto, 8% as black, 4% as amerindian, and 2% didn't respond.

See also

• Effects of race mixing: Latin America
• Simón Bolívar

External links

• The Venezuelan Regime and Hispanic Immigration
• Are Race and Class at the Root of Venezuela’s Political Crisis?
• Large Venezuelan Migration Sparks Xenophobic Backlash in Colombia

Encyclopedias

• Encyclopedia Britannica: Venezuela
• Encyclopedia Britannica 1911 Edition: Venezuela
• Encyclopedia.com: Venezuela
• Encyclopedia.com: Venezuela