Aida Antonel lived through Venezuela's economic ups and downs for more than three decades, but it was the political chaos this spring that pushed her to join the line stretching into the street outside the Italian chancellery.

''I've sent out more than 500 résumés in the last seven months,'' Ms. Antonel, whose grandparents came to Venezuela in the early 1950's from the Veneto, in northeastern Italy, said as she filled out forms for an Italian passport. ''I know Europe also has an unemployment problem, but I would rather look for a job in a place where I'm not afraid of getting shot.''

The scene is similar at the chancelleries of Spain and Portugal. In recent weeks there has been a surge of people with ties to other countries who are taking steps to move to those countries as political and economic uncertainties here intensify.

Unlike many people from other Latin American nations who emigrate largely for economic reasons, Venezuelans often cite their despair over deepening political divisions as one of their main reasons.