However, this "emptiness" is deceptive. It is a region of immense strategic importance. It holds Venezuela's greatest natural treasures: heavy crude oil in the Orinoco Belt, and vast mineral deposits in the Guiana Shield. The city of Ciudad Guayana stands as an anomaly here—a planned industrial metropolis that defies the surrounding wilderness, acting as the gateway to the south's resource wealth.
Venezuela’s spatial distribution has been heavily influenced by the discovery of oil in the early 20th century. This created a "rentier economy" that pulled rural workers into the cities, driving a massive exodus from the countryside to the urban north. By the turn of the 21st century, Venezuela was one of the most urbanized countries in Latin America, with nearly 90% of its population living in cities. distribucion espacial de venezuela