ABSTRACT Faced with the new normal promoted by COVID-19, it is proposed to reflect, from a critical perspective, on the current state of Venezuelan public universities located in border cities. From a qualitative and interpretive approach; opinions are triangulated from a particular worldview, to interpret perceptions, conceptualizations, valuations and specify intellectually coherent results about a phenomenon that takes place in complex settings. Venezuelan Universities work to survive and stay active; its actors suffer demotivation driven by a government that hits, and by institutional deficiencies in an environment that demands no response capacity from university students. The virtuality of education covers the spaces; scarcity of technology and resources, without possibilities of updating. Attrition is imminent, and slow destruction quickens its pace. Border towns are dying, and education as a public good is less and less sustainable