Caracas Chronicles

Upon my arrival in Caracas, I expected to hear lots of stories about Leopoldo, or about scarcity, or about the lack of freedom in the press. Instead, the latest gossip revolved around a party.

The teenage son of a big-time chavista boligarch threw an unforgettable bash in a Caracas Country Club house last Friday: one thousand people, multiple video screens, three of the most famous reggaeton artists in the continent (Maluma, J Balvin, and Farruko), and the creme-de-la-creme of Caracas’ young set were in attendance. All the kids wanted to go to a party. Sure enough, it lasted into the wee hours of the morning.

While in Caracas, I kept hearing stories about parties such as this. One chavista bureaucrat apparently celebrated his daughter’s birthday with a piñata for 500 guests, complete with a cast of 24 actors doing a live-action performance of the movie Frozen. Another friend was astonished to find that, at a wedding of another boligarch, the glasses she was using were engraved with her name, thanking her for attending.

It seems that, when it comes to showing off newfound money, the sky’s the limit.

Now, I’m not one to bash parties, but when we fête with the ill-gotten gains of an oil boom that has gone bust, do we not bear a minimum of responsibility to show some restraint? Does partying with the boligarchs make us accomplices? To what extent is Venezuela’s true crisis … a moral one?

Something to chew on. Have a great weekend everyone.