Why Venezuelans Consistently Excel at Overseas Competitions
Venezuelans have a remarkable track record at winning prizes for outstanding performance at International Student conferences held overseas such as WorldMUN, a Model of the United Nations organised by Harvard University and hosted in a different city each year.
After attending WorldMUN as a Venezuelan studying in Australia for the conferences in Singapore in 2011, Vancouver in 2012 and hosting it in Melbourne in 2013, I was filled with joy to see the overwhelming success of other Venezuelans. Every single time I met one of them, I was met with an unbelievable drive and energy. These were my people — the same language, culture and a shared vision of progress and justice.
However, most foreigners asked me the same question — how is it possible that Venezuelans are so remarkably good at problem solving and leadership, enabling them to outperform their peers from the best universities around the world, yet live in a country that is rapidly falling apart?
The answer is simple. Venezuelans have developed excellent leadership skills, and worked relentlessly towards problem solving in these international competitive environments precisely because of the adversity they face at home.
Venezuela is a country where individual thinking, unfortunately, has been replaced by collective thinking. This collective thinking is dictated solely by the Supreme Leader. Any other type of thinking equates to treason. To achieve this, the regime has waged a fierce war against the media and freedom of speech, against students and intellectualism. All organisms of the State serve only one purpose — to ensure the revolution goes unchallenged, undisturbed. Forever.
To speak out openly against corruption, failed economic policies, or social injustices is akin to a death sentence. There is no legal argument you can win in their courts, there is no election you can win in their electoral system. There are no mechanisms for students to have open debates, to be be heard or organise themselves.
Economic hardship also plays a major role.
For a lot of the Venezuelans that travel abroad for these conferences, it is the first time they go overseas. Unlike other delegations of students whose trip might be fully funded by their universities — something some in the west can be taken for granted — or are able to work or save with more ease, Venezuelan students work extremely hard for every single dollar they raise.
Access to foreign currency has been heavily restricted by the regime — yet another way of controlling the population, keeping them silent due to fear of being cut off from vital foreign currency supplies, seriously limiting their engagement with the outside world. Every dollar they receive from corporate sponsors, individual donors and several fundraising activities like raffles and selling food is received on the same premise that — ‘you are the future of this country, and our only hope to overcome the current crisis, do not let anyone or anything stop you from getting there.’
That commitment to their donors, to their country and to excellence see the Venezuelan delegations meeting weekly for entire days on weekends to do research and practice, months before most other delegations start preparing. This may be the sole instance where interests in the country are aligned, meaning hard work and academic achievement are recognised and rewarded.
That is not to say that other delegations do not prepare and practice. However, while most students from other countries will see a Model of the United Nations as an opportunity to learn and practice new skills to take back home and keep developing, for Venezuelans it is the only chance they will have at having a meaningful exploration of ideas with like minded — curious, smart, committed, free — young people.
Clear and fair rules — MUNs operate with the actual United Nations rules and procedures — and diplomacy — each delegation is assigned a country, and students have to immerse themselves fully in the foreign policy of that country, rather than represent their own views, or those of the country where they come from - enable a principled debate, by looking at the history, the value, the interests, allies and challenges of each country it is possible to come up with a matrix of possible solutions that both address the problem at hand and meet other countries standards and desires.
Give Venezuelans the medium to be heard, organised and get things done and they will succeed. The current situation of the country has less to do with people being lazy or unprepared, and a lot more to do with the government ensuring that people are oppressed.
Brilliant students who could easily challenge and replace the current regime are kept under control. Actual policies and outcomes are beyond the scope of the government, so they have removed every mechanism for governmental review.
Being oppressed grants the individual an unusually high amount of time to reflect in silence. They are not able to challenge or speak out the authority openly, but they can’t be stopped from reading, from learning the many lessons from history, absorbing and analysis political, philosophical and economic ideas and principles.
The Venezuelans have demonstrated that there is no lack of intellectual capacity or personal will to assume the leadership and steer their country in a different direction, tackling the many challenges in a pragmatic and professional way. It is only the lack of a medium for them to express themselves, to become organised, to execute.
The Internet is enabling connections that were not possible ten years ago, and unimaginable decades ago during the era of fierce authoritarian regimes. How long would some of those despots have lasted if their population had unlimited and free access to information, and the capacity to organise themselves, in a safe and efficient way? The future is online, now.
