Remittances are Venezuela’s second most important source of money entering the country. For millions of Venezuelan households, money transfers from relatives living overseas have become a lifeline. 

Residents struggle on a daily basis with tight budgets, inflation and low wages. That is why millions of Venezuelans have decided to leave the country in recent years.

Yesmi Flores' family home feels empty. 

Her 25-year-old son Nelson left Venezuela for Mexico earlier this year.

The country's prolonged economic crisis and low salaries pushed him to pursue a better future elsewhere.

The money he sends is helping his mother back in Venezuela to make ends meet and to pay for medicines to help manage Yesmi’s lupus disease. 

“The fact that he can send money gives me peace of mind,” says Yesmi. “Even if you don’t have your family member by your side, you know that their help could solve emergencies.”

Her son Nelson says he can earn more money in a week doing odd jobs in Mexico City than working for an entire month in Venezuela as a journalist. 

Last year, while still living in Caracas, Nelson raised money for his father's heart surgery from relatives and friends living abroad. After his father died, he decided to migrate. His main concern now is to support his mother.

“My mom is a pensioner. And pensioners only get about five dollars per month, so it is vital that I can send some money back home,” says Nelson. “And from abroad in this case from Mexico, it is easier.”

More than seven million Venezuelans have left the country since 2016.

Most of them have settled in Latin America, North America, and Europe.

According to a recent survey, almost a third of Venezuelan households depend on money sent from abroad. On average, about 70 dollars per month.

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