Venezuela Puts Up Deputy Ministry of Supreme Social Happiness.

It sounded like a prank to many Venezuelans but a Deputy Ministry of Supreme Social Happiness has been indeed created in Venezuela. No less than President Nicolas Maduro is the brainchild of the said institution.

Anti-poverty thrusts

President Maduro told the press that a pediatrician in charge is going to manage the happiness agency and will tie-up with various Venezuelan missions fighting against poverty. The late President Hugo Chavez created these missions. Social media networks went abuzz Friday over the announcement and Twitter users posted sarcastic remarks stating how happy they were upon hearing the announcement.

Oil rich country

Venezuela is among the highly urbanized nations in Latin America with a big chunk of Venezuelan population residing in its northern cities. Caracas is the most populated city and also the biggest with very high crime rates. Venezuela’s rich oil reserves were discovered in the early part of the 1900s. Since then the country became one of the leading exporters of oil in the world. Having the largest oil reserves, Venezuela’s leading coffee and cocoa industry was overtaken by oil business. However in 1980 it bumped into a debt crisis when an oil glut took place. This external debt crisis stretched for many years causing a 100% inflation in 1996. Poverty became widespread, rising at 66%.

Economic see-saw

Venezuela’s economy picked up again in 2001 when oil prices got better. The government managed its spending habits but the global financial crisis caused the country’s financial status to dip again. In 2010 the economy started growing another time but was not stable. Presently, business condition is taking a see-saw pattern of up and down and crime rate is consistently growing, making Venezuela among the hot spot places in the world.

Happy people

According to a 2011 survey by Social Investigation Group, 82% of Venezuelans claim they live happy lives. The survey was conducted based on the social status, work, religion and gender of the subject interviewees. Results of the survey indicated a general mood of contentment among Venezuelan population. Majority of the respondents said they felt they were doing things they were proud of. Some 44% said their biggest accomplishments were their children while another 15% said their academic achievement was their source of pride. When asked what would make them unhappy, the general answers came to be unemployment as the highest, followed by insecurity, family problems and disease.

Shortage of basic goods

Despite being rich in oil deposits, Venezuela is always short with basic goods and commodities including medical supplies. The country suffers from yearly economic downturn with its currency dipping to as low as 50% in inflation rate. The official exchange rate has gone down against the U.S. dollar and is now seven times over the authorized black market rate. The recent creation of the happiness agency is regarded as a cushion against the impact of continuing economic difficulties in Venezuela although concrete measures on how it would work out are still underway. A pediatrician in charge is designated to carry out the objectives of the Deputy Ministry of Supreme Social Happiness.