Monthly Archives: January 2012

Quico comes out in favor of the guerrilla

Posted on January 31, 2012 by

It’s absolutely true because I read it in the NYTimes…

Posted in In Other News | Tagged | 1 Comment

Would you like to get Haier than you’ve ever been in your life?

Posted on January 30, 2012 by

Amazingly, some bits of Bolivarian bureaucracy actually do work properly. Among them is the system for giving out passports, which has morphed from insane, Kafkaesque ordeal to freakishly quick and stress-free tramite in the last few years: a 10 minute web … Continue reading →

Posted in Misiones | Tagged , | 54 Comments

Sunday night in Las Mercedes; Tuesday, Parapara

Posted on January 26, 2012 by

So, for the first time ever, Juan and Quico are going to coincide in Caracas over the next few days. Since a grand total of one reader turned up to Masa Critica (you know who you are, and you’re a … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News | 37 Comments

Another take on our economic elites

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

My latest over at the Foreign Policy blog.

Posted in The Economy | 31 Comments

Critical Mass Caracas – Tonight! Can’t come? Come to a Tasca afterwards…

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Just a reminder: Critical Mass is today, at Plaza Bolivar in Chacao (we’re assembling at 5:30-6:00 p.m.) At this point, I have a grand total of three confirmed CaracasChronicles readers coming. C’mon, folks, we can do better than that! Update: If … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News | 62 Comments

How do you explain clientelism to a gringo?

Posted on January 25, 2012 by

Might not actually be possible, but that’s not going to stop me from trying.

Posted in Chavismo, Corruption | 46 Comments

Venezuela’s useless elites

Posted on January 24, 2012 by

“That thing you just said,” he growls, pointing right at me, “that Cadivi is a subsidy for the rich … that is FALSE!” My dad’s friend is a smart, well-respected maracucho lawyer, someone I looked up to when I was … Continue reading →

Posted in The Economy | 56 Comments

LL puts an end to what little suspense there was

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

So, in his last debate answer tonight, Leopoldo López just about announced he’s dropping out and backing Henrique Capriles. The official announcement is tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. And the real question is, what did they offer him? The obvious … Continue reading →

Posted in Henrique Capriles, Leopoldo López | 103 Comments

Department of Comes-Round-Once-a-Year

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

Hey, it’s 23 de enero, everyone. 

Posted in History | 49 Comments

Love Chávez; Hate the Government

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

Some friends invited me to the Comuna Cacique Tiuna, the big new housing development behind the Poliedro, in Caracas’ southwest corner. I tagged along hoping for some insight on low-income housing in Chávez’s Venezuela, and on the people who benefit … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo | 109 Comments

Is Leopoldo López Venezuela’s Rick Perry?

Posted on January 22, 2012 by

I was reading through the excellent comments debate that followed Juan’s Capriles post – really, it’s been a long time since so much good stuff came out in our forum – and suddenly it struck me: where’s Leopoldo? Even among … Continue reading →

Posted in Leopoldo López | 62 Comments

I will vote for Capriles, and you should too

Posted on January 20, 2012 by

I am going to vote for Henrique Capriles on February 12th, and I am asking you to do the same. This will come as no surprise to frequent readers, but I would like to lay out my reasoning explicitly so, … Continue reading →

Posted in Henrique Capriles | 148 Comments

C21 Confirms It – In December HCR Was Miles Ahead

Posted on January 19, 2012 by

The survey is a month old, but back in mid-December, the opposition primary really wasn’t a race. Henrique Capriles’s voters skew younger, more feminine, wealthier and less maracucho than Pablo Pérez’s voters.   Still and all, Capriles was ahead in every … Continue reading →

Posted in Polls, Primaries | 10 Comments

Caracas Chronicles Meet-and-Greet, Critical Mass Edition

Posted on January 19, 2012 by

So, as some of you’ll know, I’m in Caracas for the next couple of months. It’s always fun to do a meet and greet when I’m in town, to get in touch with readers I normally only know as commenter … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News | 12 Comments

67% of Likely Oppo Primary Voters are Class D and E

Posted on January 18, 2012 by

That’s one a key nugget from that Datanalisis December paper - it’s on page 14. More than 2/3rds of self-reported likely voters in the opposition primary are likely to be struggling working class/poor people in class D and E. We’re not … Continue reading →

Posted in Primaries | 19 Comments