Author Archives: Gustavo Hernandez Acevedo

It’s the easy way or the CONATEL way

Posted on May 23, 2013

Maracaibo-based TV channel Americana de Televisión (ATEL) is not your typical local TV station. Since its foundation ten years ago, ATEL can be only seen by cable and satellite services. But early this month, there was a press report indicating … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, The Media | 2 Comments

Parking in Caracas is getting harder

Posted on May 23, 2013

Almost a year ago, I wrote a post about the ordeal that drivers in Caracas and other Venezuelan cities face every day just to find an available parking spot. Well, at least 40,000 parking spaces in Caracas have been lost … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, infrastructure, Society | 46 Comments

Bandes’s not-so-great overseas adventures

Posted on May 22, 2013

Back in 2006, the Venezuelan state’s development bank BANDES decided to expand its operations overseas by starting a commercial branch in Uruguay. Five years later, Bandes Uruguay announced an internal reorganization, but reaffirmed its committment to continue working, to the … Continue reading →

Posted in International, The Economy | 13 Comments

Best Bit Translated

Posted on May 21, 2013

MARIO SILVA: On [April] 12th [Nicolas Maduro] tells me: Call me when you can, without saying it live on air. I call him. You know what he tells me? Hold on, this is what he told me, and he sends … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 9 Comments

AVN foils Google’s evil plan (Updated)

Posted on May 16, 2013

Venezuelan State news agency AVN is apparently angry. But why? Is it because of the toilet paper shortage? Or perhaps because of recent events of violence in Cojedes State? No, and no. According to this report, the evil search engine … Continue reading →

Posted in In Other News, The Media, Nicolas Maduro | 27 Comments

The PSUV outsources to China

Posted on May 15, 2013

The recently named Vice-President of China Li Yuanchao visited Venezuela and met with Nicolás Maduro in Miraflores Palace to sign a new batch of deals between both governments. Instead of focusing only on the economic front, it looks like our … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, International, Politics | 18 Comments

Luisa Estela is down, but not out

Posted on May 13, 2013

The Venezuelan Supreme Court (TSJ) selects its leadership at the beginning of the judicial year, every January. This time, it took them until May to finally reach a consensus on its leadership. Even if incumbent TSJ President Luisa Estela Morales … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, In Other News, Justice System, Society | 17 Comments

More goons, please

Posted on May 9, 2013

Violence in Caracas reached new highs in April, and the numbers so far from May aren’t much better. Given this scenario, Nicolás Maduro announced this week that the Armed Forces would participate in a special security plan. In his words, … Continue reading →

Posted in Military, Nicolas Maduro, Society, Violence | 34 Comments

Chávez or bust

Posted on May 8, 2013

A reporter from El Nacional newspaper took a picture of this bust of the late comandante supremo outside of a shopping mall of the Military Social Prevision Institute (IPSFA) in Caracas. A full statue of Chávez was unveiled in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, In Other News | 25 Comments

Food sovereignty: Still a mere formality

Posted on May 8, 2013

The government has raised the official subsidy paid to domestic rice producers - from 2,50 Bolivars per Kilo to 3,60 Bs. In spite of this, our producers shouldn’t feel too happy about that adjustment. Why? Beacuse days before that, the same … Continue reading →

Posted in International, Politics, The Economy | 13 Comments

CORPOELEC: Once the solution, now the problem

Posted on May 6, 2013

New Electricity Minister Jesse Chacón has tried to differentiate himself from his predecessors during his first days at the job. He even pledged to quit if his new plan to fix the ongoing electricity crisis doesn’t work. But he also … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Crisis, In Other News, The Economy | 26 Comments

Communicational hegemony vs. copyright

Posted on May 5, 2013

Because using music of a videogame as the soundtrack for a cadena nacional wasn’t enough, State TV channel VTV decided to use “Detalles”, one of the greatest hits of Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos in this TV spot to show Nicolas … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, In Other News, The Media | 64 Comments

Things I learned watching last night’s cadena (UPDATED)

Posted on May 2, 2013

Last night’s cadena nacional presenting the regime’s “evidence” that the opposition is to blame for getting their faces kicked in at the National Assembly is the stuff of legend. Here’s the belief-beggaring goebbelsian job: Here’s what I’m thinking as I see this: … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, Diosdado Cabello, Politics, The Media | 115 Comments

The fate of Lácteos Los Andes

Posted on April 30, 2013

More than five years ago, Hugo Chávez announced that the government bought private dairy company Lácteos Los Andes, making it part of his “food sovereignty” plan, along with other companies like coffee maker Fama de America. For years, it was presented … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, In Other News, The Economy | 33 Comments

Tim Tracy and the April connection

Posted on April 29, 2013

New Interior Minister Miguel Rodríguez Torres made public last week details about what he calls the “April connection”: an alleged plot where student groups were financed by an unnamed nation to create unrest in the country. The main announcement was … Continue reading →

Posted in Chavismo, In Other News, International | 71 Comments