University professors vote with their feet

Millions of Venezuelans voiced their displeasure with President Nicolas Maduro's United Socialist Party by giving opposition parties an overwhelming victory in congressional elections last Sunday. But over the past few years, a flood of disgruntled Venezuelans have been voting with their feet, and college professors are among them, writes John Otis for NPR.

Amid soaring inflation, food shortages and a collapsing currency, some of the country's best and brightest are emigrating. The economic crisis has been especially hard on Venezuela's universities, which have lost throngs of professors to better-paying jobs overseas.

Tomás Guardia has a doctorate in mathematics, the subject he teaches at the Central University of Venezuela, better known as the UCV. It's the nation's most prestigious university, yet Guardia earns the equivalent of just US$35 a month. "I only buy food, we don't leave the country, there's no recreation," Guardia said. His eight-year-old son used to go to swimming classes on Saturday, but the family can no longer afford it. That's why Guardia and thousands of other professors at Venezuela's main public universities walked off the job in September. Classes have been cancelled for tens of thousands of students.
Full report on the NPR site