Monthly Archives: January 2013

Annals of historical name-changing

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

The new Chavista governor of Mérida Alexis Ramírez has decided to roll up his sleeves and do some serious work, with the help of the State Legislature (controlled by the PSUV). Is this about solving the never-ending problem of trash … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, History, In Other News | 16 Comments

The crowded bandwagon (cont)

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

Note: Long-time reader Dago takes the Torres/Monaldi/Morales/Rodríguez proposal for handing out oil rents to citizens and then taxing them, and frames it in an interesting, approachable way. He also talks about the likely amount we’re dealing with here, and he … Continue reading →

Posted in Conditional Cash Transfers, Politics, The Economy | 76 Comments

All Roads Lead to Repression

Posted on January 31, 2013 by

Here’s a thought someone put in my inbox – and a good one. The major paradox of the Chávez era is what you might call the Case of the Missing Repression: governments as authoritarian as Chávez’s, with an eliminationist rhetoric … Continue reading →

Posted in Repression | 46 Comments

A timely reminder

Posted on January 30, 2013 by

This nifty BBC interactive feature serves as a timely reminder: gasoline in Venezuela isn’t so much “cheap” as it is, for all intents and purposes, free. [Hat tip: Anelim]  

Posted in Oil | 10 Comments

Hugo Chávez, darling of Wall Street

Posted on January 30, 2013 by

Bloomberg’s Ye Xie and Nathan Crooks have a very interesting article profiling the cozy relationship between Hugo Chávez and his bondholders. They make the case that, in spite of all his rhetoric, Chávez has never missed a bond payment, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonds, The Economy | 22 Comments

Games people play

Posted on January 30, 2013 by

When the final chapter in chavismo is written (and I’m one of the few that think this will happen sooner than most think) one of its most glaring mistakes will be how they sacrificed governance for politics. We elect governments, … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Politics, Prisons, The Media | 23 Comments

Uribana is closed, but the crisis isn’t over

Posted on January 29, 2013 by

After officially acknowledging the death of 58 people in the violent events of January 25th, Prisons Minister Iris Varela ordered the transfer of Uribana Prison’s remaining inmates to other jails. Most of them are now ensconced in Yaracuy State Prison … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Rights, Prisons, Society, Violence | 9 Comments

The Savage Discourse Revisited

Posted on January 28, 2013 by

It’s been eight years since I translated the passages below from the classic (if too-little-read) book by Merideño philosopher/poet J.M. Briceño Guerrero, but I still sporadically go back to them for inspiration. The essays were written over 30 years ago … Continue reading →

Posted in Venezuelan Culture, Way Back (Older Posts) | 157 Comments

The bandwagon is getting crowded

Posted on January 28, 2013 by

Long-time readers know extorres, our frequent (yet annoyingly anonymous) commenter who has been pushing the direct distribution of oil wealth for a loooong time. Today, the Wall Street Journal’s Mary Anastasia O’Grady buys right into his idea. Citing a study … Continue reading →

Posted in Oil | 58 Comments

Local elections to be postponed (Updated)

Posted on January 28, 2013 by

The CNE is set to announce that the date for the already-delayed municipal elections is to be moved again, this time from May 26th to July 14th. The reason is that the PSUV is preparing a closed primary vote to … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, CNE, Politics | Leave a comment

Prannation

Posted on January 28, 2013 by

Just finished Jon Lee Anderson’s (infuriatingly paywalled) New Yorker piece about the ranchification of Caracas. Anderson well justifies his reputation as a journalistic legend here: the piece really is a remarkable read. (Update: Prodavinci published an authorized Spanish version) It … Continue reading →

Posted in Society | 66 Comments

This is what the Paquetazo looks like

Posted on January 27, 2013 by

As the government finds it has fewer dollars to fund imports of cut-price food, scenes like this one are set to become increasingly “normal”. When people imagine the “paquetazo“, they imagine a grave Giordani announcing unpleasant measures on TV. But … Continue reading →

Posted in The Economy | 36 Comments

Finding a cure for pessimism in Rio’s favelas

Posted on January 26, 2013 by

(A Spanish version of this post appears in Prodavinci) The New Yorker published a shattering article this week by Jon Lee Anderson, about Caracas’ slow, brutal decadence. The city Anderson paints, seen through his foreign eyes, is known by all … Continue reading →

Posted in infrastructure | 79 Comments

A hard day at Uribana (Updated)

Posted on January 25, 2013 by

Today, personnel of the Prisons Ministry along with soldiers of the National Guard tried to inspect Uribana Prison (located outside Barquisimeto) for illegal materials. The procedure was supposed to be low-profile in nature. But a local journalist found out, thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, Prisons, Society, Violence | 27 Comments

The #1 Defender of Diosdado Cabello’s Rights

Posted on January 24, 2013 by

Opposition Twitter celebrity Diego Arria is mad as MUD, and he’s not gonna take it anymore. He is frustrated that the opposition umbrella group (following its leader, Henrique Capriles) has decided to forego claims that Maduro is illegitimate. In his … Continue reading →

Posted in Diego Arria, Henrique Capriles | 68 Comments