MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The best and the worst city to live in Latin America

The Uruguayan capital is positioned above cities such as Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile because of its relatively relaxed political and social environment (Photo: Nicolás Pereyra)

Caracas, in the last place, and Montevideo ranks as the two opposite poles of the list of cities ordered by quality of life in Latin America in 2019, according to Mercer. The capital of Austria, Vienna, ranked for the tenth consecutive year as the best in the world.

Venezuela’s capital fell 29 positions on the world scale, ranking 202nd out of 231 cities analyzed by the international consultancy based in New York.

Mercer said the Venezuelan capital “saw life standards fall after significant political and economic instability” that led to a shortage of basic goods and an institutional crisis where the Parliament, which is not recognized by the Nicolás Maduro regime, proclaimed opposition leader Juan Guaidó as country’s interim president in January.

However, Mercer’s index based on the data analyzed between September and November 2018, which means that it did not take into account recent events, among which there is a massive blackout and protests, Reuters said.

For its part, in the 78th place of the world ranking, Montevideo ranked as the Latin American city with the best quality of life.

“The quality of life is determined by many factors, from access to public transport and traffic congestion levels, to the availability of housing, international schools and the cultural scene of the city,” Mercer said in a statement.

The Uruguayan capital is positioned above cities such as Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile for its relatively low pollution index and its also relatively relaxed political and social environment, which are some of the 39 factors grouped into 10 categories studied by Mercer.

Vienna, the leader of the ranking, is known by tourists for its imperial past, golden palaces and classical music. However, it is also known as “the red Vienna” because it has been governed for many years by left governments, with cheap public services and abundant social housing.