At first, these opportunities were open to everyone. Young Venezuelans studying abroad could apply for an allowance of cheap dollars, which they were meant to use to pay for their studies. Thousands of middle-class kids quickly figured out how to game this system, thus producing a boomlet of Venezuelans at English-language schools in and around Dublin. They were there to drink Guinness, learn a few phrases, and profit from the artificial exchange rates as best they could.
