Venezuelan Shopping Malls Left in the Dark

Shopping malls across Venezuela closed their doors early last Wednesday to comply with a power-rationing program issued by President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Under the three-month plan, designed to combat severe electricity shortages, more than 250 shopping centers are to generate their own power on weekdays from 1 to 3PM. and from 7 to 9PM. However, most malls will have to limit their services or even close for these four hours, as they do not have power-generation capacity. Bewildered and upset Venezuelans who found shops closed expressed their discontent: “This is madness, this is not a solution, it’s a drastic measure that will bring about more unemployment and worsen an economy already in crisis,” said Nataly Orta.

The program will not only affect the 2.5 million consumers who visit malls on a daily basis, but also the 580,000 mall employees that will face decreased commissions, reduced hours, and possibly unemployment, as the Venezuelan Chamber of Shopping Centers, Merchants and Associates declared in a statement. In fact, the statement estimates an 80 percent drop in sales resulting from forced shop closures during peak hours.

The latest electricity cuts may further dampen an economy that is already struggling with triple-digit inflation, chronic product shortages, and declining oil prices. After shrinking by 10 percent in 2015, the Venezuelan economy is expected to shrink another 8 percent this year.

The power-rationing program “denotes the grave structural crisis that engulfs Venezuela: an institutional, economic, security, and services crisis,” expressed Asdrubal Oliveros, director of consulting firm Ecoanalítica. Amid tumbling oil prices and deteriorating economic and social conditions, the ruling Socialist Party may soon face social upheaval.