Venezuela is the baseball world champion, a sport that has shaped the country’s identity and has been deeply intertwined with its oil history. This triumph arrives in a particular context for a nation that has endured decades of wounds, death, economic crisis, migration, and political confrontation. In 2026, Venezuela stands on the threshold of a possible process of transformation and reintegration with the United States, a country where, besides oil, baseball also holds a special place in its historical connection with Venezuela. Therefore, I allow myself to reflect on what this victory implies beyond sports, also revisiting its mirrors in contemporary history.
Introduced at the end of the 19th century and consolidated in the early decades of the 20th century, baseball quickly became Venezuela’s popular sport, especially in the coastal region and in the oil-rich cities of the East and Zulia, as well as in the capital, Caracas. It was not just entertainment; it was a space for socialization, where different groups could interact under common rules, developing a sense of teamwork, discipline, and cooperation.
Local leagues and national teams, which competed internationally from the 1940s and 1950s, allowed Venezuelans to project a modern and cosmopolitan identity by participating in a world that looked toward the United States and the Caribbean. Baseball, then, functioned as a framework for social integration, especially in urban and port contexts where internal migrants, oil workers, and foreign entrepreneurs intermingled.
